The Third Option
by moonmama
Summary: What if “all in” and “all out” aren’t the only options? A story about love & parenthood, and all the baggage that comes along with it. AU and of course JavaJunkie why else bother?
1. Chapter 1

_The Third Option – _What if "all in" and "all out" aren't the only options? A story about love & parenthood, and all the baggage that comes along with it. AU and of course JavaJunkie; why else bother?

A/N: My first AU story. I've read a few fics that deal with what would've happened if Lorelai had married Christopher when she was pregnant. This deals with Luke's "what if". Still Lorelai's POV.

* * *

"Rory! Your chariot arrives m'lady!" Lorelai called to Rory from outside the Independence Inn.

Rory emerged from the Inn and came barreling down the walkway to meet the school bus, her backpack bouncing back & forth with each step.

"Off for another day of making the other 3rd graders feel completely inadequate?" Lorelai said, giving Rory a hug.

Rory rolled her eyes.

"You might want to hold off on giving Mrs. Johnson any more grammar lessons, though. At least for today," Lorelai cautioned her. "They might kick you out of school, and then I'd have to homeschool you and you wouldn't learn anything except for Bangles lyrics and lines from Brat Pack movies, and nothing whatsoever that will help get you into Harvard."

"I don't think they can kick me out, it's public school." Rory replied. "Besides she totally messed up 'I-T-S' vs. 'I-T-apostrophe-S'."

"Just call you Little Man Gilmore."

"Bye Mom," Rory said, giving her a hug and boarding the bus.

Lorelai waved to her as the bus pulled away, then headed back into the Inn. She made her way into the kitchen and grabbed a cookie off a nearby tray as she scanned the room. She spotted a pot of coffee left unattended on a counter and started to pour herself a cup.

"Lorelai," said a stern voice behind her.

Lorelai stopped pouring and turned to face an older gentleman in a chef's outfit. A guilty look crossed her face.

"David, just a little…"

"Does this look like a soup kitchen?" he demanded.

"Well, it's a kitchen…and Sookie mentioned something about gazpacho…" Lorelai said playfully.

"If you can't stop helping yourself to food in here, I'm going to have to talk to Mia about having it deducted from your pay."

"David, I swear I was just going to have a tiny sip of coffee…"

"That is Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee that costs $50 a pound."

Lorelai's eyes widened. "$50 a pound? David, I got better coffee from the _vending machine_ at the truckstop. You're going to have Mia going broke on mediocre coffee while buying it from Starbucks would probably serve just as well at half the price. Better, even. Hey, is Sookie here yet? Last night she said something about blintzes..."

"Lorelai, much as you hate hearing it, you are not in charge here and neither is Sookie. Now I suggest you go find Mia, she was looking for you a little while ago."

"Aww, come on David, just a muffin? I didn't have time for breakfast this morning, I overslept. I was up late paying tribute to River Phoenix. _My Own Private Idaho, The Mosquito Coast_…he was a genius cut off in his youth."

"And this is supposed to make me feel sorry for you?" David asked.

Lorelai decided to change tactics. "Come on, I can't resist those chocolate chip muffins, they're the best I've ever tasted, and that's really saying something. My mother once fired her cook because he gave her a muffin with only 3 chocolate chips in it. Now _that_ is a woman who knows her muffins, and she taught me everything I know. And if you give me one, well who knows, I may just happen to discover that we have a free room here the weekend of your wedding anniversary…" Lorelai gave him a flirtatious smile.

David grudgingly handed her a muffin.

Lorelai left the kitchen, munching on her muffin, and went out into the lobby, where she found Mia behind the check-in desk, going over the next day's reservations.

"Hey Mia," Lorelai greeted her boss. "I heard you were looking for me?"

"We're overbooked," Mia informed her.

"What? That's impossible."

"See for yourself," Mia insisted. "December 18th, 19th and 20th, we're over capacity."

Lorelai examined the reservation book closely. "Mia, I don't know how this happened," she insisted. "But I do know things have been getting confused here lately. Between Audra and me taking reservations during the day, and Sue's been doing some too lately when Audra and I have been too busy, and Tobin's been taking them at night, I swear I've never seen so many Post-Its in my life. We're single-handedly keeping 3M in business."

"Exactly my point," Mia informed her. "Lorelai, you've been helping out with some event planning recently. Have you been enjoying it?"

"Are you kidding me? After living through sixteen years of Emily Gilmore's events, the worst bridezilla you can throw at me is still a walk in the park."

Mia smiled. "Lorelai, I'd like to put you on event planning full-time."

"But who's going work the desk?" Lorelai wondered.

"I'm going to hire someone new. We've got too many people splitting their time in five different directions, we need someone dedicated to the desk. What do you think? If you'd prefer, you can have that job and I'll hire someone for event planning."

Lorelai pondered for a moment. "I think I'll stick with event planning. It's a lot of fun spending other people's money and watching crazy family feuds that I'm not involved in for a change."

"Good," Mia replied. "Because we have a couple coming here shortly who are interested in having their wedding here. I'm going to have you meet with them. They will want a tour of the facilities, an explanation of the services we offer, and an idea of the costs involved. You've sat in on these before, are you comfortable with this?"

"More comfortable than a velour jogging suit," Lorelai assured her.

"Audra will be available if anything comes up that you're unsure of. You'll do fine. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to call the newspaper about a help-wanted ad."

* * *

A short time later, the lobby door opened and a young couple walked in. The woman was carrying a baby.

Lorelai greeted them. "Welcome to the Independence Inn, can I help you?" she asked.

"Yes, we have an appointment, we're interested in having our wedding here," the woman replied.

"Well you've come to the right place. I'm Lorelai, I'll be showing you around," Lorelai said, extending her hand to the woman.

As they shook hands, Lorelai observed the visitors. The bride-to-be was a tall, glamorous brunette, not entirely unlike Lorelai herself in appearance and age. Upon closer viewing, the baby appeared to be more than a year of age – a toddler, really.

Lorelai had been involved in enough weddings at the Inn to know that most grooms were bored with these proceedings, but it was unusual for them to be quite so disgruntled the moment they arrived. This groom, however, definitely looked more than bored already. He hung back from the conversation, hands in his pockets, gazing around the room, clearly wishing he was anywhere but there. He was dressed in jeans, a flannel shirt and a backwards baseball cap.

"I'm Anna Nardini," the bride replied. "This is April," she said, indicating the baby, "and this is my fiancé, Luke Danes."

Lorelai extended her hand to Luke. As she moved closer to him she happened to look up into his face, and caught her breath momentarily. This man had the bluest eyes she had ever seen.

Lorelai let go of his hand, took a breath and began. "OK, well I just need to ask you a few questions to get started, and then we'll take a tour. Let's start out with the basics: when is the big date?"

"June 11th," Anna replied.

"And do you plan to have the ceremony at a church, or would you want to do it here?"

They replied simultaneously, but with opposite answers.

"Church," said Anna.

"Here," said Luke.

"Undecided," Lorelai said, not missing a beat while she made notes on her clipboard. "Now can I assume from this little one's presence here," Lorelai tickled April under the chin, "that you will be having children at the wedding?"

They both nodded.

"And approximately how many guests do you plan to have?"

"About 250," Anna replied.

Lorelai couldn't help noticing Luke's eyes widen upon hearing this figure.

"OK, so I'll just take a few minutes to show you around, please feel free to ask any questions that might come to mind," Lorelai said, leading them into the dining room.

"Actually, I do have a question," Anna said. "I need a spot to change a diaper," she said, indicating April.

"Well, you could do it on one of the tables here if you wanted to violate about 53 health codes. Or you could go in there," Lorelai said, indicating the bathroom.

"Thanks," said Anna as she disappeared into the bathroom

Luke looked around the room uncomfortably, hands still in his pockets.

"We'll try to keep it short," Lorelai assured him.

"What?"

"The tour. It's usually pretty painful for the groom having to listen to reams of information on coordinating bridesmaid dresses with napkins, and where the bride can go to touch up her makeup, and what Julia Roberts wore at her wedding."

"I won't be listening," Luke said abruptly.

Lorelai was taken aback, and a bit insulted at this blatant expression of disinterest, but did her best to be polite and salvage the conversation. "Ah, smart man, letting the bride make all the decisions."

"Yeah, only reason I'm here is so she can delude herself into thinking we did this together. Me, I don't see why we can't just get a Justice of the Peace and do it in the living room."

"Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Rhett Butler."

"What?" Luke asked.

"Sorry, just a little joke," Lorelai apologized. "Actually I'd say about 80 of the grooms who come through here say pretty much the same thing. But you know, Miss Manners says the whole problem with marriage today is that couples don't go through rigorous enough engagement periods. It's supposed to be a trial by fire. She even provides a list of things to fight about. I can dig you up a copy if you'd like."

"That won't be necessary," Luke assured her as Anna reappeared, this time leading April by the hand.

"She's tired of being held," Anna explained. "She was squirming so much I was afraid I'd drop her."

April was tugging at Anna's hand, anxious to explore the dining room. Anna turned to go with her, and Lorelai followed their lead, walking further into the dining room.

"So this is our dining area, I think it's just about right for your 250 guests. Some smaller weddings get swallowed up in here, but 200-250 usually works really well. The band can set up over here," Lorelai indicated the far side of the room, "and the head table can go there."

April chose that moment to break away from Anna's grasp and run across the room. Anna ran after her, picked her up and came back over to where Lorelai and Luke were. April continued to try to squirm out of Anna's arms as if her life depended on it.

"Sorry," Anna apologized as she put April down again. "She's an incredibly curious little girl. They had to do an extra round of babyproofing at her daycare, just for her."

"She climbs, too," Luke interjected, pointing to April, who had once again broken away from Anna and had climbed onto a chair next to one of the dining tables, and then onto the table itself.

Luke hastened over to retrieve her before she was able to pick up a glass of water and decide whether she wanted to try drinking out of it like a big girl, or see what happened when it was thrown on the floor.

Luke brought her back over to Lorelai and Anna. "I'm going to take her outside," he said, extending his hand for Anna to give him April's coat. "This is obviously pointless."

"We can reschedule if you'd like," Lorelai offered.

"Like when she's eighteen?" Anna joked. "No, it's OK. We've both seen the place now, I can go over the details with him later."

Luke put April's coat on her and departed outside.

Anna sighed, turned and smiled at Lorelai. "Ah, that's better. I feel about 700 pounds lighter. I can actually have a grownup conversation without interruption."

Lorelai laughed. "Oh, I remember those days. You can't let them out of your sight for a moment or they'll pick up stones, or eat dog poop, or completely rip apart your favorite teddy bear."

Anna chuckled in return. "April's thing is climbing. I have a grand piano that's pushed up against the back of the couch. She uses the couch as a step to climb up onto the top of the piano."

Lorelai laughed.

"So you have kids?" Anna asked her.

"Just one. She's nine," Lorelai replied.

Anna's eyes widened. "You don't look nearly old enough…" she began.

"I'm not," Lorelai interjected. "And I'll tell you, it was quite memorable being fitted for a retainer right after my prenatal exam. I also remember being pretty mad that none of the maternity stores carried Madonna lace tops," Lorelai replied.

Anna laughed. "Where's her father? I mean, are you…you know…married?"

"No, I'm not ready for that institution yet," Lorelai joked. "Her dad is…well…he's here & there."

"I'm sorry," Anna said. "That must be hard."

"Rory makes it easy," Lorelai replied. Then, returning to the matter at hand she continued, "Now, I'll just show you our private dressing area for bridal parties, we'll go up and see the guest quarters, and then we can go out back in case you want to do an outdoor wedding."

_tbc _


	2. Chapter 2

Lorelai was looking for a diner.

She had called Stars Hollow home for 7 years, but she rarely ventured into the downtown area. It was just too tempting. She was living in self-imposed poverty at the Inn, with very little extra money to spend on anything, and whenever she did have any extra cash, it was quickly stashed away in the bank, saving up for the day when she could buy a house for herself and Rory, and finally move out of the garden shack.

So here she was, a complete stranger in her own home town, searching for a diner that refused to show itself.

After their meeting at the Independence Inn, Anna had called the very next day to reserve the date for their wedding. Lorelai needed to collect a deposit from them, and go over some preliminary details, and Anna had suggested they meet at a diner in town. Apparently Luke owned the place, though quite honestly Lorelai had trouble picturing him in a customer-service sort of capacity.

She scanned the row of stores one more time: Doose's Market, Al's Pancake World, Williams Hardware, Weston's Bakery, Kim's Antiques…

There was no diner.

She finally stopped a passerby to ask.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for Luke's Diner?"

"Right in front of you, sugar," replied the somewhat older-looking, short and plump woman, who was pulling a wagon with…was that a _cat_ in it? The woman pointed directly across the street.

"I'm sorry, I must be having a Ray Charles moment," Lorelai replied helplessly. Clearly this woman thought the diner was as obvious as Prince Charles' ears.

"Oh, I'm sorry sugar, I always forget – it's under the 'Williams Hardware' sign. See the little sign below that says 'Luke's'?"

_Finally_ she saw it, although it required the likes of the Hubble Telescope to read the lettering.

"Thank you," she said to the woman.

"Oh, and could you do me a favor?" the woman asked her. "Tell Luke that I'll be by in about an hour, if he could throw together a turkey club for me?" She turned and hurried off in the opposite direction.

Only when she was out of sight did Lorelai realize that she hadn't gotten the woman's name, and would now have to _describe_ the crazy-cat-in-a-wagon lady to Luke. She crossed the street, walked up the steps to the diner and entered.

There was no sign of Anna yet. She spotted Luke back in the kitchen, so she made her way over to the counter and waited for him to come out.

"AARRRRREEEEEEEEOOOOOOOWWWWWWWW!!!!!"

Someone in the diner had shrieked wildly and nearly made Lorelai jump out of her skin. She turned to see who it was. A man sitting alone at a table appeared to be examining a pager.

"Kirk, if you don't turn that damn thing off I'm going to take a sledgehammer to it," growled Luke as he emerged from the kitchen.

Lorelai smiled at him. "Hello, Mr. Danes," she began. "Um, there was a woman outside who asked me to ask you to have a turkey club ready for her in about an hour? Sorry, I didn't get her name. She was blonde, a little bit older. She was, uh, pulling a wagon with a cat in it."

Luke looked up at her with a blank expression. "Who the hell are you and why are you placing orders for Babette?"

Lorelai had a sudden urge to see the aforementioned sledgehammer connect with Luke's head, but she bit her tongue, silently counted to three, and politely replied, "I'm Lorelai, remember? From the Independence Inn?"

"Oh, right," he replied, waving vaguely in the direction of the tables. "You can take a seat anywhere, Anna's not here yet."

Lorelai sat down at an empty table and began looking through her organizer at the list of things to go over with Anna and Luke.

"YYYYYOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSSHHHHHH!!!!!!!"

"Kirk!" Luke snarled from the storeroom.

Lorelai looked at Kirk questioningly.

"I'm in training to be a paramedic," he explained to her. "I have to carry a pager, but I'm finding it a little startling when it vibrates in my pocket. I asked my mom to page me every few minutes so that I could get used to it."

"'A little startling?'" Lorelai echoed. "The bedroom scene in _The Crying Game_ was 'a little startling'. This is more like Hannibal Lechter at Hiroshima. Can't you turn off the vibrate mode?"

"I can't figure out how," Kirk said helplessly.

Luke made his way over to Lorelai's table carrying a pot of coffee. "Coffee?" he offered.

"Sure, thanks" Lorelai accepted. "Should we wait for Ms. Nardini? We can get started without her if you'd like."

"We'd better wait," Luke said wryly. "This is her department, if I screw anything up I'll definitely hear about it."

He headed back behind the counter. Lorelai added some cream & sugar to her coffee and was just taking her first sip as Anna entered the diner.

"And suddenly it all becomes clear," Lorelai said to her, standing up to shake her hand. "Nice to see you again, Ms. Nardini."

"Oh, please call me Anna," Anna replied. "What becomes clear?"

"Why you're marrying him. This is the best coffee I've ever tasted. We have _got_ to get some of this over at the Inn."

"He won't give up his secret," Anna said, leaning over to kiss Luke who had come to greet her.

"Hey," he greeted her.

"Are we ready to get started?" Lorelai asked.

"VVVVVVVVRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!"

Luke growled and sent a dirty look in Kirk's direction.

"Kirk, what the…" Anna began.

Luke interrupted her. "He has a pager. He's Kirk. Do you really need any more information?"

"I suppose not," Anna agreed. "I guess we're ready to start."

Luke pulled up a chair and sat down with them, as Lorelai started at the top of her list.

"OK, first let's talk about the general theme & feel you're looking for," Lorelai started.

Anna held up a hand to stop her. "Actually, hold that thought," she said. "Luke, could you get me a salad? I need to grab some lunch here, I've got a ton of work to get through this afternoon."

Luke sighed, rolled his eyes, stood up and headed into the kitchen.

"Has he ever met Michael Stipe?" Lorelai asked Anna.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm thinking he must've been the inspiration for _Shiny Happy People_," Lorelai explained.

Anna laughed. "Oh, he's all bark and no bite. Really, underneath it all he's the biggest softie you'll ever meet."

Lorelai looked skeptical.

"He's the best father to April that I could've asked for, and I never would've expected it."

"Well, that I can see," Lorelai agreed. "The 'not expecting it' part, that is."

"No, seriously," Anna insisted. "April – well, let's just say she was a bit of a surprise, and I almost didn't even tell Luke about it when I found out I was pregnant."

"I think he would've noticed eventually," Lorelai said.

"Actually we had broken up before I found out," Anna continued, "so he never would've known. And he seriously hated kids before. _Hated_ them. We couldn't go to the movies before 10:00 at night because there might be kids there. At a restaurant, if there were any kids near us, we'd have to move tables."

"Mister Rogers he ain't," said Lorelai.

"No, really Lorelai. As soon as I told him I was pregnant, everything changed. He was in. He was _all_ in. You know, we had broken up, so I wasn't sure where we would stand, the two of us, but all those troubles we had, all the reasons for breaking up, they all just washed away till I couldn't even remember what they were any more. He's been…oh, just _amazing_ through it all." Anna looked lovingly at Luke, who was taking an order across the diner. "I'm gushing," she said suddenly, laughing at herself.

Lorelai sighed wistfully. "It's OK," she assured Anna. "A great dad is definitely something worth gushing over."

* * *

"OK, I think that covers it for now," Lorelai concluded. "I'll give you a call next week to set up times to talk about menu selection and music options. The only other thing I need from you right now is the deposit." Lorelai slid a piece of paper towards them with a dollar figure on it.

Luke looked at the paper and his eyes widened like saucers.

"GGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" went Kirk.

"Excuse me for a moment," Luke said, standing up and going over to Kirk's table. Kirk had removed the pager from his pocket and was examining it once again.

Luke grabbed it out of Kirk's hands, went over to the door, opened it and threw the pager outside. Then he turned and stormed back into the storeroom.

"I'm sorry," Anna said. "I'd better go talk to him." She got up and headed back after Luke.

Lorelai sipped her coffee patiently while she waited, and tried hard not to listen to the snippets of conversation that were drifting back into the diner from the storeroom.

"…feed a small Third World country with that amount…"

"…special day…dreamed of forever…"

Just then the door opened and two customers entered the diner. Lorelai recognized one of them as the cat-lady that she had spoken to earlier in the square – Luke had said her name was Babette. The other woman was also an older woman, heavyset with dark hair.

"Luke!" called Babette, "You got that turkey club for me?"

"Luke is…indisposed at the moment," Kirk explained to Babette and her friend, nodding his head towards the storeroom.

"Nessarose at it again?" the dark-haired lady asked.

Babette suddenly spotted Lorelai and came over to her table. "Nice to see you again, sugar," she said. "I didn't get your name before."

"I'm Lorelai," Lorelai replied as she shook hands with Babette.

"Nice to meet you Lorelai, I'm Babette, and this is Miss Patty. You new around here?"

"Sort of, I work at the Independence Inn," Lorelai explained.

"She's planning the wedding," Kirk explained, again nodding towards the storeroom where the conversation appeared to be getting heated again.

"…college tuition for April…"

"...lifetime of memories…my mother will want…"

Lorelai was starting to feel like a lawyer caught in a conflict-of-interest case. "Maybe I should go," she said, starting to gather her things together.

"Oh no, honey," Miss Patty said to her, "They'll be done in just a few minutes, and Nessarose will get her way."

"Nessarose?" Lorelai inquired.

"The Wicked Witch of the East," Kirk explained to her. "The evil yet beautiful sorceress who uses her powers to control her subjects."

"If only a house would fall on her," Babette said as the others chuckled.

Anna suddenly reappeared from the storeroom, and the onlookers quickly silenced their laughter. She came over to Lorelai's table, pulled out her checkbook and started making out a check.

"I'm sorry about that," she said as she wrote. "Luke's not really that into the whole 'big wedding' concept."

"I noticed," Lorelai said. "You know, if you're not sure about this, we can wait on the deposit."

"Oh, I'm sure," Anna said. "And I don't want to lose the date."

"It's just that engagements can be pretty stressful and if this is already causing this much strife between the two of you…"

"Lorelai, it's fine," Anna assured her. "I'll deal with Luke. Really, it's OK. We're going to do this."

tbc


	3. Chapter 3

"I need to throw an egg off the roof," Rory announced, climbing into bed with Lorelai on a Saturday morning.

"What's up, hon?" Lorelai asked sleepily.

"I need to throw an egg off the roof," Rory repeated.

"OK, while you work on that, I'll be beating a watermelon with a baseball bat," Lorelai replied.

"What?"

"Well it seemed just as random as 'throwing an egg off the roof'," Lorelai explained.

"Mom, I'm serious. It's a science project at school. I need some help."

"Hon, if you're asking me for help you must be in real trouble."

"It's throwing things. You'll love it," Rory insisted.

"And just what is the purpose of this project?" Lorelai wondered.

"I have to wrap the egg up so it won't break when it's tossed off the roof," Rory explained. "On Monday the principal is going to climb onto the roof of the school and toss everyone's eggs down and see whose breaks and whose don't."

Lorelai sat up in bed and sighed. "OK, any ideas what to wrap it in?"

"I was thinking maybe some bubble wrap, or maybe try making a parachute out of a plastic bag," Rory suggested.

"My padded bra would probably work great," Lorelai offered.

"Mom," Rory complained.

"Cotton balls!" Lorelai said. "How about a bunch of cotton balls in a plastic bag?"

Together they began compiling ideas and the materials they would need.

* * *

A short time later, they had gotten dressed and were finishing breakfast. 

"OK, so where are we going to practice this?" Lorelai asked.

"We need a place that's at least as high as the roof of the school. I want to do a real test and make sure my egg won't break for the real thing," Rory insisted.

"I don't think this tool shed is going to fit the bill," Lorelai said. "And Mia might object to us throwing eggs onto the heads of the customers at the Inn. We're going to have to find somewhere else."

"Where else could we go? Nobody's going to let us climb on their roof and throw eggs down," Rory complained.

"How about the church in town?" Lorelai offered.

"But we don't go there."

"So?" Lorelai asked.

"So you want to walk in there and tell the minister 'sorry, we have no interest in your religion, we just want to toss eggs out the window?'"

"It's for a school project, isn't it?"

Rory sighed. "OK, but you're doing the talking."

Rory got all her egg-wrapping items together as Lorelai cleaned up from breakfast, and they both got ready to go. Rory waited impatiently at the door.

"Can we hurry up and do this before I'm old enough to wear your padded bra myself?" Rory complained.

Lorelai was searching for something around the room. "I can't find my coat," she said. "I think I left it at Sookie's yesterday."

"How could you forget your coat in December in Connecticut?"

"Never mind, I'll go without it," Lorelai said, pulling another shirt on top of the one she was already wearing. "Ready to go?"

Rory nodded.

"Let's hurry up and get this done. Sookie loaned me season one of _The Partridge Family_, we have 25 episodes to get through this weekend."

They headed out the door and down towards the Inn. It was a chilly, frosty and gray morning, still very wet from recent rains.

Rory noticed that Lorelai was not walking towards the car.

"Out of gas until payday," Lorelai explained. "It's only half a mile, we can walk." She quickened her pace as she crossed her arms more tightly across her chest to ward off the cold.

* * *

They reached the center of town and entered the church, where Lorelai was thankful to be able to get warm. She went into the office and explained their errand to the assistant who was working there. Then she and Rory agreed that Lorelai would go up into the tower to be the egg-tosser, while Rory would stay outside to survey the results. 

Lorelai climbed to the top and stuck her head out the window. "Oh, Romeo, Romeo…" she began.

"Will you just toss it?" Rory insisted from down below.

Lorelai began with the cotton-balled egg and hurled it as hard as she could towards the ground.

SPLAT!

The egg shattered, and the bag and all its contents were strewn over the sidewalk. Rory hastened to pick up as much debris as possible.

"No fair," Rory called up to her. "You're supposed to drop it _gently_, not hurl it full force at the ground."

"Who's to say the principal won't do the same thing? Maybe he was Curt Schilling in a previous life."

"Except for the fact that Curt Schilling is alive and well," Rory pointed out. "Can we please switch places?"

"OK, but no spitting," Lorelai said.

"I make no promises," Rory replied.

They swapped places, Rory now poking her head out of the window of the tower and Lorelai standing shivering on the sidewalk below.

A light rain was starting to fall. "Hey hon?" she asked, putting on her best Spanish accent. "I do not suppose you can speed things up?"

"Keep your shirt on, Inigo," Rory replied. "I'm going to try the parachute one now."

"OK, but let's get a move on please? This isn't exactly a refreshing spring rain."

Rory tossed the next egg out of the window.

At that same moment, a passing car drove through a puddle and splattered Lorelai all over with dirty slush water, while simultaneously distracting her from keeping an eye on the egg that was hurtling towards her.

The chute did not open, and Rory's aim was perfect. The egg made contact with Lorelai's head, the shell cracked and slimy raw egg oozed down through her hair and onto her face.

Lorelai cried out in indignation. "You hit me!" she cried.

"Sorry," Rory apologized.

"You're not supposed to hit me, you throw like a girl. You can't throw a ball to save your life! How on earth did you manage to _pummel _mewith an_ egg_?"

"Beginner's luck," Rory replied. "Are you OK?"

Lorelai stuck her tongue out and licked at some of the egg. "Needs Hollandaise sauce," she said.

"Ewwww."

"Did you know that raw egg is actually really good for your hair?" Lorelai asked.

"Will you freeze to death if I just try one more?"

"OK, but if I start hallucinating midgets serving me orange marmalade on melba toast, can you please call me an ambulance?"

"Deal."

"Do you think it's a bad sign that my fingers are turning blue?"

Rory ignored her. "OK, here comes the bubble wrap," she said, tossing the last egg out the window.

Third time proved to be a charm. The egg bounced lightly in its container and settled on the sidewalk. Rory whooped with excitement and started down from the church tower to join Lorelai.

As she was waiting below, Lorelai suddenly heard a voice behind her.

"Lorelai?"

She turned around to see Luke staring at her, looking her up & down inquisitively.

"Oh, so _now_ you recognize me?" Lorelai complained. "I was dressed perfect and professional last time and you had no idea who I was, but douse me in slush and crack an egg on my head and we have immediate recognition."

Lorelai wasn't sure if that was a look of…_amusement_…on his face? It was such an unfamiliar expression to be seen on this particular countenance that it took her a moment to process.

"What the hell happened to you?" he asked.

"Oh, it's a mom thing," Lorelai explained, motioning to where Rory was coming out of the church. "I was helping my daughter with a school project and I guess you could say she blinded me with science. Rory, this is Luke Danes."

"Hi," said Rory.

"You might want to get some, uh, dry clothes on," Luke suggested to Lorelai.

Lorelai looked down at her clothes and realized that her drenched shirt was clinging to her in a most immodest fashion.

"Rory, let's get going before I start shivering so much I won't be able to walk straight," implored Lorelai.

"That's a bad sign," Luke said, watching her involuntary shivers increase. "How far away is your car?"

"Not near enough," Lorelai said. "We walked here."

"You're going to get pneumonia walking back like that," Luke objected. "Come in the diner and get warm."

"Do you have a license for porn?" Lorelai asked. "Because you might need one with me looking like this in there. Besides, I didn't bring my wallet, I can't order anything."

"Come," Luke ordered.

Desperate for some warmth, Lorelai blindly obeyed and went with him, with Rory trailing behind. He led them into the diner, through it and back to the stairway and finally upstairs to a door that read 'Williams Hardware.'"

"So what's the deal with Williams Hardware, anyway?" Lorelai asked.

Luke unlocked the door. "This place used to be my dad's hardware store," he explained tersely as he motioned for them to enter. "The bathroom is over there if you want to grab a shower, there's towels in the closet, and there should be some of Anna's clothes in the dresser for you to wear."

"Luke, thank you…" Lorelai began.

"No going through my file cabinet," Luke groused as he disappeared back downstairs.

Rory looked at Lorelai inquisitively. "And who is this person?" she wondered.

"Client from the Inn," Lorelai explained. "Honestly I thought he was a bit of a jerk until now, but right now I'm thinking he might as well be Mother Teresa."

* * *

Lorelai and Rory were ready to head home. Lorelai had showered, washed all the egg out of her hair and even found a hairdryer in Luke's bathroom while Rory waited, reading a book. Lorelai had donned some of Anna's clothes and wrapped up her dirty items in a plastic bag. The two of them made their way back down into the diner to thank Luke. 

It was mid-afternoon so the diner was empty. Luke was working behind the counter. As soon as he saw them, he slid some plates out for them.

"What can I get you? Coffee?" he asked.

"Oh, no thanks. I, uh, didn't bring my wallet," Lorelai reminded him. "I just wanted to let you know that I thank you, Rory thanks you, and now that I won't have to go see her, my doctor thanks you. Ever since I tried singing into her stethoscope that one time I don't think she's too keen on having me in her office."

"Is that cherry pie?" Rory asked, peering into a dish on the counter.

"Rhubarb cherry," Luke corrected her. "Can I get you a piece?"

"Um…no money on me," Lorelai reminded her.

"So wipe up the table when you're done and we'll call it even," Luke offered. "And no sneezing on the salt shakers."

Lorelai was slowly starting to realize that underneath all Luke's gruffness, there was actually a sense of humor lurking. She continued to prod him, "Though I suppose you do owe me for the wet T-shirt show I just put on for you."

"I'll stuff some singles into your pants," Luke deadpanned, not missing a beat.

"Or you could pour me some more of that coffee," Lorelai replied. "So do you guys live up there?"

"Not really," Luke explained. "I used to, but I moved into Anna's place when April came along. Still comes in handy to have it, though; we spend the night here every once in a while when I have an early delivery, or the weather's bad, or sometimes Anna watches April up there while I'm working."

Luke poured Lorelai's coffee and cut two slices of pie for them, as the two of them sat down at the counter to eat.

"OK, so are we all done with the homework for the weekend?" Lorelai asked Rory, "Or do we have to hurl a china doll out of a tree now too?"

"All done," Rory assured her. "We can go watch your marathon now."

Luke raised an eyebrow.

"Season one of _The_ _Partridge Family_," Lorelai explained to him. "Twenty-five episodes of fun-filled family frolicking."

"Hey, nice alliteration," interjected Rory.

"You're going to spend 12 hours watching a bunch of people dressed in velvet with fluffy collars lip-sync and drive around in a crazy painted bus?" Luke asked.

"Oh, my God, you're totally missing the point," Lorelai objected. "_The Partridge Family_ was _so_ ahead of its time. It had a single mother of 5 kids, she was a strong parental figure, all the women were well-written and intelligent, and they dealt with real-life issues without being preachy like the Bradys did." Lorelai feigned gagging herself with her finger at the mention of the Bradys.

Luke rolled his eyes.

"Plus David Cassidy was just a major hunk and always will be," Lorelai said. She leaned over to Rory and put her arm around her. "It's _so_ important to teach good taste to the younger generation."

Lorelai and Rory finished up their pie and began getting ready to leave. Despite Luke's instructions to clean up after themselves, he collected their dishes and wiped the table down himself before they had a chance to do it.

Then he poured a cup of coffee to go and handed it to Lorelai. "Since you seem to like it so much," he said in explanation.

"Drug pusher," she accused him, "giving me the first one for free."

"First two," he corrected her. "And they're not really the first, you were here the other day. You don't have to take it if you don't want it."

"Oh, I'm taking it," she assured him, "but you can be damn sure I'm paying you back next time I see you."

"I charge 200 interest, compounded hourly," Luke said.

Lorelai ignored him. "Thanks again," she said sincerely. "You've been a lifesaver today, almost literally."

"No problem," Luke replied.

"Nice meeting you," said Rory as the two of them exited the diner and started their way down the street.

"Are you warm enough to make it back home now?" Rory asked.

"First thing, I need to pick up my coat at Sookie's," Lorelai announced. "Then we can go get Partridged."

As they continued on their way, Lorelai looked back towards the diner for a moment, an expression on her face that was simultaneously inquisitive and surprised.

_tbc_


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Many thanks to everyone who has been reading, enjoying and reviewing so far, especially since I know how unpopular Anna is. Now I must ask you to trust me once again with this chapter, in particular the treatment of Anna again, because it's really not the purpose of this chapter to highlight Anna's character. I need her for something else at the moment, and as such she needs to _not_ be hateful.

For now.

* * *

Lorelai entered the kitchen at the Inn the following Friday morning to find David the cook giving her a distinctly smug look. 

"Well, don't you look like the smuggest king of smug in all of Smugville." she said.

"I have my revenge," he sung gleefully.

"Revenge for what? How could you possibly outdo my last stunt? I mis-labeled your entire spice collection." Lorelai gasped.

"Oh, I already got you back for that one," David assured her. "That was when I froze all your earrings inside individual ice cubes."

"Oh, so this is for when I put your name on all the mailing lists?"

David rolled his eyes. "An entire rainforest was destroyed with all that junk mail. No, I already got you back for that one too, that's when I kidnapped Rory's teddy bear and hung it by the noose in the lobby."

"So what's this one for?" Lorelai wondered.

"This is for continually stealing my chef shirt and resizing it smaller and smaller to make me think I'm gaining weight."

"I did no such thing," Lorelai insisted indignantly.

David glared at her knowingly.

"It all depends on how you define 'continually'," Lorelai confessed. "I only did it twice."

"Well, now I have my revenge," he replied. "Mia asked me for help hiring a new concierge, and we've found our guy."

"That sounds like good news to me," Lorelai said, confused.

"He's French," David continued. "Went to some fancy-schmancy hospitality school in Geneva. Mia would've hired him based on that alone; in fact I think she did because she could barely understand a word he said."

"Unintelligible, the perfect quality for someone working in customer service," Lorelai said.

"I assured Mia that the language wouldn't be a problem, because I could understand everything he said," David said, laughing. "_Everything_ he said. No, the problem with this guy won't be language."

Still confused, Lorelai made her way out to the lobby, where she found Mia talking to an extremely polished-looking young man who was perfectly outfitted in a gray suit and red tie.

"Lorelai, I'd like you to meet Michel Gerard, the new concierge I've hired. Michel, this is Lorelai. She works on event planning, but she's had just about every job in the place, so if you need any help, she's a good place to start."

Michel extended his hand to Lorelai. "I am very pleased to meet you," he said in a distinctly French – but perfectly clear - accent.

"Welcome to the Independence Inn," Lorelai replied, still wondering what the joke was.

"Michel, I think we're done with the tour," Mia continued. "We've got a mile-long to-do list waiting for you, so I'll just leave you in Lorelai's capable hands to get started on it. If you'll excuse me, I need to go speak to someone about why the linen delivery's been late the past 3 days." Mia made her exit, leaving Lorelai and Michel alone.

Lorelai pulled out the to-do list and started going down it with Michel. "OK, so first off, we need a carpenter in here to take a look at the roof, we had some ice dams last winter that leaked into room 215 and the Turners woke up to water dripping onto their backsides in bed at 4AM. Here's the filofax, there's a couple names that Mia likes to call in there."

Michel nodded. "Oh, how I love speaking with carpenters, such an honest clean bunch they are," he said sarcastically.

Lorelai smiled obligingly, thinking Michel was making a joke. "Next thing, the maid called in sick today – we've got a sub taking care of the cleaning but the laundry needs to be taken care of; I know the Bennetts in 107 called for laundry pickup."

"Oh, I am just so excited at the prospect of such a stimulating task," Michel replied sarcastically.

Lorelai was a bit taken aback at this response. She decided to change tactics. "So what brings you over here from France?" she asked him, trying to be friendly. "We know it can't be the food, and I doubt it's the scenery or else you wouldn't be here in Connecticut."

"Oh please," Michel said, annoyed. "Just because we will be working together does not mean we automatically have to become best friends." He turned, put a deliberate and rather false-looking smile on his face, and went to greet some customers who had just walked through the front door.

Lorelai was beginning to see that the joke was on her.

* * *

"So if you want to go the traditional route, we could go with a white bouquet, or you could be a little more unconventional and mix in some brighter colors with it. I've seen some fabulous things done with orange and even red." 

Lorelai was meeting with Anna to start planning flower arrangements for the wedding.

Anna pondered for a moment, then answered, "I think I'll stick with white."

"OK," Lorelai made a note, then continued, "and did you want just roses, or did you want to try something like calla lilies, daisies, tulips, orchids…" Lorelai spread out some pictures to show Anna.

Just then, Sookie emerged from the kitchen and came over to see them.

Lorelai took the opportunity to introduce them. "Anna Nardini, this is Sookie St. James, she's our sous chef who will be working with us to plan your menu."

Anna and Sookie shook hands.

"I'll be going over your wedding themes with Sookie, and then she'll put together some menu ideas to discuss when we meet in a few weeks," Lorelai explained.

"It's nice to meet you," Sookie said to Anna, as Anna settled back down to continue going through her flower choices.

Sookie and Lorelai stepped aside for a moment to talk privately. "So 7:00 tonight?" Sookie asked.

"I'll definitely be there, unless I end up getting chased by a bunch of dinosaurs that've been cloned from blood sucked by mosquitoes and then preserved in fossil resin for millions of years. Or I might also get arrested for murdering the new concierge," replied Lorelai. "But barring either of those events, I just need to drop off Rory and then I'll be over."

Sookie went back into the kitchen and Lorelai returned to Anna. "Sorry about that," she apologized. "Just mixing a little pleasure with business; I actually have a free evening tonight and we're planning a girls' night."

"Oh, that sounds heavenly," Anna replied. "I haven't had a night out in months."

"Hey, you should join us," Lorelai suggested. "It's nothing fancy, just a few drinks at Sookie's house, and we'll be watching _Killer_ _Klowns from Outer Space_, a camp classic, and perfect for anyone who's ever found clowns to be just a little bit disturbing. I don't know about you, but Bozo the Clown used to give me nightmares."

Anna thought for a moment. "Well, I'd have to see if Luke can watch April tonight, but maybe I could make it."

"Great! We'll see you at 7," Lorelai replied.

* * *

Lorelai and Anna had joined Sookie at her house and were relaxing on the couch as Sookie worked in the kitchen preparing refreshments for them. 

"So Luke's watching April – he was supposed to be at the diner late tonight but I got him to get his cook to cover for him so I could come out," Anna was explaining to Lorelai. "Where's your daughter tonight?" she asked Lorelai, taking a large swig of the drink that Sookie had poured her.

"Oh, it's that wonderful ritual known as 'sleeping over at a friend's house'," Lorelai replied. "Only time I ever get a night out on my own."

"Don't feel too sorry for her," Sookie interjected from the next room. "Lorelai really doesn't know what to do with herself when Rory's gone; _that's_ when I feel sorry for her. This invite tonight was really just a pity invite. We're really used to doing these movie nights with Rory along."

"Oh, so I'm just a stand-in for her?" Anna joked.

"Pretty much, so make sure you behave yourself or you'll be grounded for a week," replied Lorelai.

"God, I can't even imagine how you do it on your own," Anna said to Lorelai. "I'm totally overwhelmed as it is, and I have Luke for help. And my mom."

"You have a toddler. Toddlers by definition are more overwhelming than a tsunami on Mecca during the holy pilgrimage." Lorelai replied.

Anna took another sip of her drink. "What the heck did you put in this, Sookie? I swear it tastes like strawberry sherbet but I've already got a buzz going and I'm not even halfway through my first drink."

"Oh, strawberry sherbet and a little of this and that," Sookie replied enigmatically.

"Don't even bother, Anna," Lorelai advised her, "She never gives away her recipes. I don't know why not; it's not like I or anyone else could make it as well as she does, even with the recipe."

Sookie giggled. "Remember the time you tried to do the scrambled eggs for the guests' breakfast at the Inn?"

Anna was curious. "Why were you cooking, and how on earth can you mess up scrambled eggs?"

"Well, I was doing the cooking because it was my fault that David the chef was late that day. I played a practical joke on him," Lorelai explained looking sheepish.

Sookie giggled some more. "See, David is incredibly anal about his car, so Lorelai decided to torment him; she put a note on his window saying 'Sorry for the scratch, I'll take care of any damage,' and she left a fake phone number."

Lorelai laughed along. "And he spent two hours the next morning going over every inch of the car, trying to find the non-existent scratch." All three of them were laughing now. "As for how I messed up scrambled eggs, well, the eggs are really the only ones who fully understand that one."

"Refills, anyone?" Sookie offered as she came around with a pitcher and filled up Anna's and Lorelai's drinks.

"So can I ask you a question?" Anna said to Lorelai.

"Yes, I did once consider becoming one of the Branch Davidians," Lorelai joked.

"Do you date? Or do you have a boyfriend?" Anna asked.

Lorelai nodded knowingly. "Ah, I believe the proper phrasing of that question is 'Do you have any semblance of a love life, or are you so consumed with single motherhood that it's just not possible to think of such things, thus warranting the pity of all who meet you?'"

Anna laughed. "So you _do_ understand my question."

Lorelai sighed. "I suppose it's the latter, although I'm not looking for any pity."

"She gets asked out _all_ the time," Sookie interjected. "Really, don't feel too sorry for her."

"Half of them run screaming when they find out I have a kid," Lorelai protested. "And anyway, I'm just not comfortable bringing someone else into Rory's life right now. She has a father. It just seems like it would be…weird having another man around, acting like he's some sort of parental figure when he's not."

"I thought you said her father wasn't involved?" Anna asked.

"Oh, he's here & there. He pops in every so often. He called us yesterday, as a matter of fact. We'll be seeing him over Christmas," Lorelai explained.

Anna swallowed another large gulp of her drink. "How does Rory feel about this arrangement?"

"Rory, bless her heard, is Rory," Lorelai said affectionately. "She's incredibly resilient. She loves Chris, but she knows not to expect much from him."

Anna looked confused at the conflicting message that Lorelai seemed to be giving. "How did he react when he found out you were pregnant?"

"Oh, he signed right up for The Twenty-Two-Year Plan," Lorelai replied. "Just like your guy did. He was all in. My parents mapped it all out for us – marriage, job, the whole 99,000 yards, he was ready, willing and able to do it all."

Anna's eyes widened. "He wanted to marry you? How did he get from that to absentee father?"

"I said no," Lorelai explained simply.

"You wouldn't marry him?" Anna asked.

"Chris had plans, he was going to Europe, college, he had all sorts of ideas," Lorelai explained. "I didn't see any reason why we should both ruin our lives, trapped in a loveless marriage, and believe me, that's where we would've ended up, with him working at a job that he would've hated, all in the name of 'giving Rory a home.' Look at us now; she has a home. She has a mother, and she even has a father once in a while."

"So when you wouldn't marry him, he just took off?"

Lorelai shrugged. "I don't know, maybe I pushed him away, but I was just encouraging him to live the life he had planned all along. I didn't want him to give up his whole future just because I forgot the condoms one night."

Anna took another swig of her drink. "But isn't that what you do when a child comes along? Make sacrifices? _You_ certainly did, raising her on your own. Don't you think Rory deserves to have a real father in her life? Why would you just write him off like that? He was willing to be a father and it sounds like you drove him off on purpose."

Lorelai looked stricken for a moment, and Anna realized she had gone too far. "I'm sorry," she said. "I have a real knack for offending people when I drink. Just ignore me."

"It's OK," Lorelai replied quietly, still pondering Anna's words.

"It's just that Luke is such a big part of April's life, it's hard for me to imagine raising a child without a father around. It's hard to imagine a father who wouldn't want to be part of it."

"Oh, it's not that Chris doesn't want to…" Lorelai said feebly.

"What about your parents? Are they involved at all?"

Lorelai snorted. "My mother makes Saddam Hussein look like a kindly sovereign. I ran away when Rory was two. We still talk occasionally, mostly on holidays."

Anna's eyes widened. "Wow, so you really _are_ on your own. My mother is so helpful with April, I swear if it hadn't been for her I would've been putting her diapers on backwards, taking her out in the cold…and she was such a huge help with her colic, I had no idea how to calm her down when she cried."

"My mother wasn't much help with that stuff, she just had the nanny take care of it all," Lorelai replied.

"I bet she misses you, though; she is still your mother after all," Anna said, then suddenly shook herself. "I'm sorry, I'm doing it again. Just tell me to get the hell down off my high horse."

Anna took another sip of her drink as Lorelai regarded her, pondering her words. Just then Sookie returned from the kitchen carrying a tray of appetizers.

"Bruschetta, crab-stuffed jalapenos, and foccacia with three cheeses," Sookie explained as she put the tray down in front of them.

"See this is the great part of having a chef as your best friend," Lorelai explained to Anna as they all dug in eagerly. "Seriously, you should go hang out at the local cooking school to meet people. I'd offer Sookie, but she's taken and I'm not giving her up."

"So you only like me for my cooking?" Sookie asked Lorelai.

"Damn straight and don't you forget it. Now let's have us some _Killer Klowns_," Lorelai said, aiming the remote at the TV and starting the movie.

As the movie started, Lorelai looked over at Anna as she pondered the differences between them. For the first time, she was forced to consider the possibility that some of the decisions she had made along the way - and never really questioned - might not have been quite so perfect after all.

_tbc_


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I haven't stated it explicitly, but this story is set in late 1993 and I'm trying to keep my pop culture references true to the time period…but there's one reference in this chapter that's from several years later. It was just too good & perfect for the situation to pass up. I'll be very impressed if anyone can ID it.

* * *

Lorelai stood looking in the mirror, smoothing down her dress, looking helpless. "This isn't going to work," she complained. 

"Mom, you look fantastic, what's the problem?"

"This is the same dress I wore to my parents' Christmas party last year," Lorelai replied.

"So?"

"So my mother will notice and I'll be subjected to an entire evening's worth of digs about my appearance, my taste, my lack of proper conduct at social events, and while she's at it she'll probably find a way to blame me for that whole Somalia thing."

"Well if Western civilization can be saved simply by changing your dress, it may be something to consider," Rory suggested.

"I don't have anything else presentable," Lorelai complained. "I ripped my blue dress last time I wore it, and my purple one has this weird stain on it, I have no idea where it came from. Do you think this pantsuit is too frumpy?" She pulled a suit out of the closet.

"It is a bit archaic."

"Archaic. Good word," Lorelai commented.

"Vocabulary word of the day," Rory explained. "So why are we going to this event if it's stressing you out so much?"

"Apple tarts," Lorelai replied. "Amazing food, gorgeous Christmas decorations, and plenty of holiday beverages that taste so sweet you don't even notice that you're getting completely plastered until you find yourself making out with the butler's nephew, who doesn't speak English, in the broom closet."

"So the fact that we'll be at Grandma and Grandpa's house is just an inconvenient detail?" asked Rory.

Lorelai sighed. "No, we're going to see them too. I just had it pointed out to me recently how horrible a daughter I am. It seems that I'm second only to Lizzie Borden."

"Who said you're a horrible daughter?"

"Never mind. My guilty conscience said it. Let's go," Lorelai replied evasively as they headed out the door.

* * *

"Hello, Lorelai," Emily greeted Lorelai and Rory as they entered the house. 

"Hi Grandma," Rory said.

"Hi, Mom."

"Lorelai, you're looking well," Richard said as he came to greet them.

"Hi Dad."

"How's everything with your job?" Emily asked, examining Lorelai up & down.

"Fine, I'm working on event planning at the Inn these days," Lorelai informed them.

"And how is this lovely young lady doing?" Richard asked Rory. "Everything going well in school?"

"Yes, Grandpa," Rory said stiffly.

"Rory's a natural, Dad," Lorelai said. "Straight A's all the way, and she's never without a book in her hands."

"Is that so?" Richard asked. "So many kids today are completely buried in TV and those video games, sometimes I wonder if they even teach them to read any more. Rory, it's quite refreshing to hear that you love reading."

"Well come in, come in," Emily gestured to them. "Rory, your great-aunt Millie would love to see you, she's over by the fireplace. Excuse me, please," she said as the doorbell rang again.

Rory headed over towards the fireplace as Lorelai flagged down a server and helped herself to a drink, and then began wandering her way through the crowd.

"Lorelai?" said a voice behind her.

Lorelai turned around to see who was talking. "Janet?" she asked.

"Lorelai Gilmore! Oh my God, Kelly, look, Lorelai's here!"

"Hey, Lorelai," Kelly said in greeting. "We were all wondering if you'd be here tonight. Wow, how long has it been? I don't think we've seen you since high school!"

"Actually, I'm not Lorelai, I'm Selma, Lorelai's evil twin," Lorelai told them. "Lorelai is outside locked in the trunk of the car."

Kelly and Janet burst into peals of laughter. "Oh, God, you haven't changed a bit. How long has it been?" Kelly asked.

"About 10 years," Janet informed her. "Remember it was sophomore year, right around homecoming when Lorelai…when she…" she stammered.

"Branded myself with a scarlet 'A' for the rest of my life?" Lorelai supplied.

Janet and Kelly laughed. "Oh, you know what we mean. Whatever happened with that whole thing?"

"Oh, the usual," Lorelai explained. "I'm still pregnant, my Peacekeeper device is keeping the baby in stasis until I get a surgeon to release it."

Janet and Kelly laughed again. "No, really, Lorelai. Didn't you run away from home or something?"

"My daughter and I live in Stars Hollow, I work at the Independence Inn. That's her over there," Lorelai explained, pointing to Rory who was chatting with some relatives.

"No way," Janet said. "She's half grown up already. There's no way she can be your kid."

"Well if she's not mine, then somebody owes me a lot of money for all the diapers I shelled out for. What's up with you guys, anyway?"

"Oh, nothing as exciting as you," Janet answered. "I graduated from Smith, went to law school and now I'm studying for the bar, and trying to squeeze in some time with my boyfriend once in a while. Hey, he has a place out in the Hamptons, you should come out for a weekend sometime."

"Oh yeah, that sounds, uh, great," Lorelai stammered. "What about you, Kelly?"

Janet answered for her with a twinkle in her eye. "Our girl Kelly here just started a rock collection."

Kelly looked embarrassed, but obligingly held out her left hand for all to admire the sizeable diamond ring that encircled her ring finger.

"Wow, congratulations. Who's the lucky guy?" Lorelai asked.

"Remember Frank Parisi?" Kelly asked.

Lorelai gasped. "No way. Wasn't he the one who joined the Church of Satan and became a warlock?"

Kelly laughed. "That was him. He's turned out to be a perfectly respectable cardiologist, although we're definitely not going to have a church wedding. Right now we're thinking October in Hawaii."

"Well, just make sure your vendor itemizes everything down to the last detail, I've heard some scary things about those Hawaii weddings. Also if you're renting a limo, you should inspect it ahead of time. Trust me, I'm a wedding planner at the Inn."

"Oh, what a fabulous job," Kelly mused. "It sounds so much more interesting than being a portfolio manager."

"I enjoy it," Lorelai replied. "If you'll excuse me for a moment, I need to go check up on my daughter. It was nice seeing both of you."

* * *

Lorelai made her way back over to Rory, who was helping herself to some hors d'oeuvres. 

"Did you know that you have an aunt who owns a coffee shop in Alaska?" Rory asked.

"Really?" Lorelai replied. "I didn't think they allowed bluebloods up that far north."

"Who was that you were talking to?"

"Oh, just some people I went to high school with, and now I'm feeling the need to find my local chapter of Underachievers Anonymous," Lorelai replied.

Lorelai tentatively approached Emily as she was checking up on the dinner preparations in the dining room.

"So how've you been, Mom?" she asked.

"Fine," Emily replied curtly as she rearranged the settings on the table, not looking up at Lorelai.

"Still doing your thing with the DAR?"

"Yes."

"Hey, is Dee-Dee Wallace still there? Does she still play that weird Norwegian fiddle thing?" Lorelai asked.

"Not recently."

"What about Pauline Svec? She was always a lot of fun to have around."

"Yes, she's still there."

Lorelai stood staring at Emily for a few moments. Finally she sighed in frustration. "Mom, I'm really trying here, but I need more than monosyllables from you."

"What do you want me to say, Lorelai?" Emily asked, a distinctly cold tone in her voice.

Lorelai was confused. "Oh, I don't know, how about 'how are you doing, Lorelai?' Or, 'How is Rory doing in school, Lorelai?' Heck, at this point I'd even settle for a 'are you dating anyone, Lorelai?'"

"Lorelai, we already covered the formalities when you arrived, and I really don't have anything else to say." Emily turned and started walking back towards the living room where all the guests were.

"Is there some problem here that I'm not aware of?" Lorelai asked.

"I'm not discussing this with you right now," Emily hissed under her breath.

"Well, that would be fine, if I knew exactly what 'it' is that we're not discussing."

Emily finally lost her temper. "We are not discussing the fact that you insist on flaunting your poverty every time you come here."

"Excuse me?" Lorelai asked, shocked.

"Every chance you get, you just love showing us how hard-up you are."

"You're getting _mad_ at me for _not_ having money?" Lorelai asked, incredulous.

"Wearing that dress two years in a row, as if you're just so poor you can't possibly afford a new dress even once a year," Emily seethed. "I seriously think you do it deliberately."

"I'm deliberately choosing my outfits to annoy you? Oh, Mom, I have plenty of other clothes that you'd find much more annoying than this."

"'Look at how hard my life is,'" Emily mimicked bitterly. "'I'll endure just about anything as long as I don't have to live here.'"

"Oh, Mom, no…" Lorelai protested, but it was too late. Emily had stalked away and quickly engaged herself in conversation with some other partygoers.

Rory, who had witnessed the entire exchange from a few feet away, finally came over and stood next to Lorelai. "The frumpy pantsuit probably would've been a better choice," she said.

* * *

Lorelai and Rory were putting on their coats to leave. 

"Oh, Lorelai, I'm glad I caught you before you left," Richard said, coming over and helping her on with her coat.

"Dad, I swear, I wasn't trying to upset Mom," Lorelai started to say.

"Oh, I know," Richard replied.

"I was just trying to talk to her. I was actually trying to be friendly, and she saw my dress and she just read _way_ too much into it."

"Lorelai, it's fine," Richard assured her. "I wanted to talk to you because I have something for you." He handed her an envelope. "It's just a little Christmas present."

Lorelai took the envelope from him and opened it. It contained a Christmas card with a check tucked inside of it. She read the figure on the check and her eyes widened.

"Two thousand dollars? Dad, this is hardly a 'little' Christmas present. This is way too much, I can't accept it," Lorelai protested, attempting to hand it back to him.

"Lorelai, it is just a Christmas present," Richard said in an aggravated tone.

"No, Dad, a fondue pot is 'just a Christmas present'," Lorelai replied. "A pair of socks. A basket of bath products. This, on the other hand, feels like charity."

"And we all know how horrible that would be," Richard grumbled. "God forbid you accept help from anyone. Your mother was right – you'll do anything in the world before taking something from us."

Lorelai sighed and rolled her eyes. "Dad…" she protested.

"It's just a Christmas present, Lorelai. Just so you can get something nice for yourself and for Rory. That's all it is."

Lorelai took a deep breath as she folded the check back into the envelope. "OK, Dad. Thank you."

"Merry Christmas, Lorelai," Richard said, helping them on with their coats.

"Merry Christmas, Dad. Please tell Mom that I wasn't trying to upset her."

"Bye Grandpa," Rory said as they headed out the door.

_tbc_

Up next: De-stressing at Luke's after the party…


	6. Chapter 6

Lorelai and Rory made their exit from the elder Gilmore residence and walked over to Lorelai's car.

Lorelai climbed into the car and took a deep breath. "Ready to go home?" she asked Rory, who was getting in the other side.

"Sure."

"Well I'm not."

"You do know that they don't let nine-year-olds into dance clubs, right?" Rory asked her.

"I was actually just thinking about a little something to go with…" Lorelai rummaged in her pocketbook and produced a small package wrapped in napkins. "…these," she concluded, holding it up with a twinkle in her eye.

"You didn't," Rory accused her.

"Oh yes I did," Lorelai said. "Two apple tarts. And we all know what goes best with apple tarts."

"Coffee," Rory said, rolling her eyes. "So we're actually going _out_ for coffee? Aren't we feeling rich tonight."

"Hey, I just got $2000, I can splurge a little."

* * *

Lorelai and Rory entered Luke's and sat down at an empty table. 

The diner was relatively slow at that late hour, so Luke wasted no time in coming over to their table to take their order. "No egg in your hair today?" he asked.

"No, today it's on my face," Lorelai replied.

"Figuratively," Rory added.

"I got that," Luke said. "You two look very dressed up, this isn't on my account, is it?"

"Don't flatter yourself. We're here to de-stress. We just came from my parents' Christmas party," Lorelai explained, "at which event I was, let's run down the list, shall we? Falsely accused, misunderstood, humiliated, made to feel like a complete failure, and finally given a big fat check for dirty guilt money."

"Well you lost me on the dirty guilt money part, but the rest sounds pretty standard for a family gathering," commented Luke.

Lorelai held up the check to show Luke. "Check this out. In my father's world, this is 'just a little Christmas present.'"

Luke read the figures on the check and nodded appreciatively. "Pretty generous gift," he commented.

"Oh, no, this is not generosity," Lorelai assured him. "This is disapproval. This is control. This is guilt. This is my parents trying anything they can to get their claws back into me so they can rein me back into their world."

"That's a lot of baggage in one little check," Luke observed. "You don't get along with your parents very well, do you?"

"No she doesn't," said Rory grimly.

"The whole 'getting pregnant at 16 and running away' thing did do some pretty severe damage to the relationship," Lorelai acknowledged.

"So why'd you take the check?" asked Luke.

Lorelai sighed. "Because I was trying to see if we could get together just once without any angst, any guilt trips, and anything whatsoever that might bring the name 'Menendez' to mind, and since that idea had already crashed, sizzled, burned, and was completely incinerated, I was trying not to make the situation any worse."

"You could just not cash the check," Luke suggested.

"Oh, but they'll know," Lorelai said, "They will be checking with their bank each and every day until they get confirmation that it's been cashed, and if I go longer than a week before I do it, I'll be subjected to daily phone calls and reminders. It would be even worse than refusing to take it. I suppose I should just suck it up and put it in the house fund."

"We're saving up to buy a house," Rory explained to Luke.

"Sounds like a smart move," Luke said. "You ready to order?"

"Hot chocolate for me, please," said Rory.

"I'll have a large coffee," Lorelai said. "The largest coffee known to exist, please."

"How about I just bring you the whole pot?" Luke offered.

"Well, if that's the best you can do." Lorelai sighed.

"Why are you drinking coffee, anyway? I thought you were here to de-stress." Luke asked.

"We are. I'm so keyed-up right now, coffee will feel like a downer."

"Can I get you anything else?" Luke asked.

"No thanks, we brought our own," Lorelai said. "Can we get a plate for these?" She took the apple tarts out of her pocketbook.

"No bringing food in here," Luke groused.

"Oh, but this is not food," Lorelai protested. "These are my parents' Christmas party apple tarts. These are slices of heaven, interspersed between slivers of Nirvana with a dash of Paradise mixed in. I promise you, this is not nourishment, this is a _religious experience_."

"So what you're saying is that the Dalai Lama should just skip the fasting and have some apple tarts instead?" Luke asked.

"You're getting the idea," Lorelai replied.

"Well far be it from me to get in the way of your First Amendment rights," Luke conceded as he headed back to the counter to get their coffee.

Lorelai looked at Rory and sighed. "Rory, I don't think I can put the money in the house fund," she said.

"Why not?"

"Because if I bought a house with money that my parents gave me, I'd be constantly wondering which piece of the house really belonged to them. I'd turn on the water in the kitchen and wonder if it was really _their_ sink and _their_ water. I'd look out the window and wonder if I was looking through _their_ glass."

"You're certifiable, you know that?" Rory asked, shaking her head. Just then, Luke returned with their drinks and Rory repeated to him, "Did you know that she's absolutely certifiable?"

"I had my suspicions," he replied.

Lorelai gasped in indignation. "OK, then let me ask you: if John Gotti gave you $2000, would you be able to spend it in good conscience?"

"You're comparing Grandpa with John Gotti?" Rory asked.

"If John Gotti was giving me money, I'd have bigger problems than figuring out how to spend it," Luke replied.

"You could give it to charity," suggested Rory.

"That's it!" gasped Lorelai in delight. "We'll give it to some charity that would drive my parents insane."

"Greenpeace?" Luke asked.

"Actually I was thinking more along the lines of the NEA. Or maybe Habitat for Humanity."

"What've they got against Habitat for Humanity?" Luke asked.

"Jimmy Carter. OK, that's what we'll do," Lorelai concluded. "We'll each buy a small gift for ourselves, but it has to be something that they would _hate_, and then we'll donate the rest."

"Always good to have a plan," Luke commented wryly as he headed back behind the counter.

* * *

Lorelai and Rory finished up their snack and Lorelai went over to the counter to pay the bill. 

"So what are you guys doing for Christmas?" she asked him. "You have, of course, bought the obligatory pile of presents for your daughter that would rival Mt. Everest in size?"

"She's not even two yet," Luke objected. "She has no idea what Christmas even is. We could give her a pine cone and she'd be overjoyed."

"But I bet you're getting something fabulous for Anna," Lorelai prompted.

"Yeah. A treadmill," Luke replied.

"And you're expecting this woman to marry you?" Lorelai asked.

"Well if she doesn't, at least I'll have a way to stay in shape," Luke deadpanned in reply as Lorelai handed him money to pay the bill.

"Luke, you have to get her something romantic, not something that says 'lose weight, fatso'," Lorelai said.

"She's been complaining constantly about not being able to lose the pregnancy weight and never having time to exercise. This is a very thoughtful gift," Luke defended himself.

"Oh, and I'm sure they thought Prohibition was thoughtful at the time too. Doesn't mean it was appreciated. What every mother of a young child wants is some quality time to herself. You should get her a gift certificate for a day at the spa."

Luke looked thoughtful for a moment. "Maybe," he finally said.

"Anyway, Merry Christmas," she said, turning to leave. "I guess I'll be seeing you guys soon, we need to start talking about reception music soon."

"Hang on a sec," Luke said, heading back into the kitchen. A moment later he reappeared carrying a bag, which he handed to her.

"What's this?" Lorelai asked, noticing for a moment how strong his hands were as she took the bag from him.

"Just a few donuts," Luke replied. "I'm getting ready to close up and they'll just get thrown away otherwise. They won't bring on any spiritual revelations, but I thought you guys might like them."

"Thanks," Lorelai replied, surprised.

"She seems like a good kid," Luke said suddenly, nodding towards Rory, who had pulled out a book and was sitting at the table reading.

"She's the best," Lorelai agreed. "We had a little angst last week when she found out the truth about Santa Claus, but in general, I couldn't ask for a better daughter."

"Yeah, I can only hope April turns out so well," Luke commented.

"Well, Rory's not exactly a finished product yet," Lorelai replied. "We still have the wonderful teenage years to look forward to. But really, just treat them with respect and give them a good, loving home, don't let them become a child actor, and I can't see how you can go too far wrong."

"Sometimes that's easier said than done," Luke replied enigmatically. "You're on your own with her?" Luke asked. "No father involved?"

"He pops in every so often," Lorelai replied. "But I'm mostly on my own."

Luke shook his head. "I don't get how someone can do that - walk out on their kid."

"It's not entirely his fault," Lorelai replied. "Anyway, we need to get going. Enjoy your holidays, Christmas, New Year's, Chanukah, Solstice, Kwanzaa, Dirty Feet Day, Kiss-Your-Mailman Day, whatever."

"PETA," Luke said suddenly as she was starting to walk away.

"What?"

"To donate your money to. Seems like something that would drive your parents batty. Insane anti-fur people, and all that."

"Nah, they'd try to turn me into a vegetarian," Lorelai replied.

"How about the ACLU?" Luke suggested. "Protecting your religious freedom to bring apple tarts into diners everywhere."

"Ladies and gentlemen, I think we have a winner," Lorelai said as she and Rory stood up, put their coats on and headed for the door.

"Merry Christmas," Rory said in farewell as they headed out the door.

"Merry Christmas, Luke," Lorelai echoed, waving goodbye.

"Merry Christmas," Luke replied.

He spoke in such a warm, gentle tone that Lorelai was caught by surprise. As she walked out the door, she looked back and their eyes met. For a moment, Lorelai thought she saw a smile at the corners of his mouth, and a slight flush of red on his cheeks.

He looked down and she turned and shook her head. Obviously she was imagining things.

_tbc_


	7. Chapter 7

It was Christmas Eve, and the Independence Inn was fully decked out in holiday decorations. Despite his complaints about climbing stepladders and putting his carefully-manicured hands to work, Michel had proven to be an excellent decorator, and had hung a generous display of garlands, lights and sparkling decorations throughout the lobby and dining room.

The McBride family Christmas party was being held that evening, which Lorelai was in charge of. Most of the other Inn staff had gone home to be with their families for the holiday, except for Tobin the night manager, Sookie, Michel, and the waitstaff that had been hired for the event.

Lorelai made her way through the partygoers in the dining room, making sure the servers were circulating adequately, checking to see if everyone had a beverage, and checking with the party hosts to see if anything needed attending to. Then she picked up a tray of dirty dishes from the servers station and entered the kitchen.

"Sookie, we're in desperate need of more crab puffs!" she called.

"They're coming, they're coming," Sookie assured her as she proceeded to burn her hand on a baking sheet and drop it as she pulled it out of the oven.

"How's the eggnog supply holding out?" Lorelai asked. "Can I get a few more drinks to pump into Mr. McBride? I swear he's made at least five passes at me tonight."

"And you want to give him _more_ alcohol?" Sookie wondered.

"He's only a drink or two short of passing out," Lorelai explained. "Then I can get his wife to take him up to his room. Excuse me for a sec, if I don't go get the pianist to play '_Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire'_ soon we're going to have a revolt of about ten sixty-year-old women on our hands." Lorelai grabbed a pitcher of eggnog and went back out into the dining room. She brought the pitcher over to the bartender, and then noticed Michel coming over to see her.

"Lorelai, there is somebody at the desk who is looking for you," Michel informed her.

"Who is it?" she asked.

"I do not know and did not care enough to ask."

Lorelai went back out into the lobby, where she saw a familiar blond-headed figure standing at the front desk, his back turned to her.

"Christopher," she said softly.

Christopher turned to see her and his face brightened. "Hey," he said jovially as he leaned in to give her a hug.

"What are you doing here?" Lorelai asked.

"I just thought I'd stop by to spend Christmas Eve with my favorite Gilmores," he replied. "Don't worry, I'm not coming empty-handed." He indicated the pile of luggage and shopping bags spread out on the floor next to him.

"Chris, I'm working," Lorelai informed him. "We're hosting a party. I won't be done till after midnight."

"That's OK, I don't mind waiting," Christopher replied. "Where's Rory? I've got a pile of presents here for her."

Lorelai sighed in resignation. "Come on," she said, motioning for him to follow her. Christopher grabbed several of his bags as Lorelai led him into the Inn lounge, where they found Rory sitting, buried in a book.

"Hey, kid," he said in greeting.

Rory looked up and her face brightened. "Dad!" she said joyfully as she sprung up to give him a hug. "Did we know you were coming?" she said in Lorelai's direction.

Lorelai shook her head as Christopher replied, "No, I thought I'd surprise the two of you." He reached into one of his bags and pulled out a package, which he extended to Rory. "Here you go, Merry Christmas," he said. "Unless you're one of those people who thinks it's sacrilege to open anything before Christmas Day." He glanced over at Lorelai to get her approval.

"Go ahead," Lorelai said, and Rory eagerly tore off the wrapping paper to reveal a chess set.

"Thanks, Dad," Rory said, giving him another hug.

"There's plenty more where that came from, but I'll leave the rest for tomorrow," Christopher informed her.

"Are you staying for Christmas?" Rory asked hopefully.

"Well, I'm supposed to see my parents tomorrow, but I can stay the night," he said.

"Chris, we don't have anywhere for you to stay," Lorelai protested. "Our place is too small and the Inn is full."

"No room at the Inn? How appropriate."

"It is Christmas Eve," Lorelai reminded him.

"It's fine, Lor. I'll just hang here with Rory until you're off work, we'll play a few rounds of chess, and I'll head back to Hartford later tonight."

* * *

Some hours later, Lorelai entered the Inn lounge to find Christopher deeply engaged in the latest issue of _Martha Stewart Living_. 

"Looking for some advice on choosing a bed skirt?" Lorelai asked.

"Hey," he said in greeting. "Rory went to bed a couple hours ago, I've just been killing time here with Martha. Great article here on omelet making, apparently I've been doing it all wrong."

Lorelai sat down on the couch next to him.

"Merry Christmas," he said, handing her a small wrapped gift.

Lorelai opened the box to reveal a pair of silver earrings. "Thanks, Chris," she said, leaning over to give him a hug.

"And I also brought a little something for the two of us to share," Christopher said, a gleam in his eye. He reached down into his bag and pulled out a bottle of vodka.

"I'll drink to that," Lorelai smiled.

Christopher opened the bottle and handed it to Lorelai, who took a swig. "So how's everything with Straub and Francine?" she asked.

"Oh, same as always," he replied, "Just paying them the obligatory annual visit. How're Emily and Richard?"

"Obligatory visit paid about 2 weeks ago," she replied. "I even tried a little bridge-building with them, and discovered that I have no future whatsoever in the bridge construction field."

"You'd look funny in the hardhat anyway," Christopher replied.

"Hey, I ran into Janet Eyster and Kelly Mosier at my parents' party," Lorelai informed him.

"No way. Those two still hanging out together? Does Kelly still have that whole stuttering thing going on?"

"Actually, no. They both graduated from excellent colleges, and are probably each earning enough money to feed several small Third World countries," Lorelai said sardonically.

Christopher chuckled. "Did I ever tell you that Janet and I made out once at Dawn Matteson's 15th birthday party?"

"More than once," Lorelai rolled her eyes. "You'd think after a decade you wouldn't feel the need to brag about it any more. So get this – Kelly is engaged to Frank Parisi."

Christopher laughed. "I remember Frank. He's the one who came up with that idea for us to put Styrofoam balls into the air conditioner at school that one time. It coated the whole faculty lounge with an inch of fake snow," he laughed proudly. "Definitely one of my prouder moments."

"Where've you been, Christopher?" Lorelai demanded suddenly.

Christopher paused for a moment as he took a swig in turn. "Boston. I'm starting a new business," he explained.

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "So what is it this time Chris? Shoelaces? Microwave oven accessories? Telephone sanitizers?"

"It's different this time, Lor."

"How long have you been in business?" she asked.

"Three weeks."

"Come back and talk to me in six months and then _maybe_ I'll consider that it _might_ be different."

"It is, Lor. I've got partners. Experts. Real computer whizzes. Investors too. I'm telling you, there's a technology revolution coming and we're catching the wave. Bad Wolf Technologies we're calling it – it's going to be big."

"I hope it is, Chris," Lorelai said doubtfully. "Just forgive me if I'm not ready to crack open the champagne and throw confetti just yet."

"I guess I deserve that," Christopher acknowledged, taking another drink. "I do have a few screw-ups under my belt."

Lorelai sighed. "You know that nobody wants you to succeed more than I do," she assured him.

"You do?"

Lorelai was taken aback. "Of course I do. Chris, I've always wanted you to make the bigtime, go for the gold, grab the brass ring and any other sappy clichés you can come up with. That's one reason we didn't get married."

"It is?"

"Chris, you had plans. You had all these exciting things you were going to do. I wasn't going to spoil that by shackling you to a job that would've made you want to scratch out your eyeballs with a staple remover."

They passed the bottle back and forth for another round of swigs while they contemplated Lorelai's words.

"Chris?" Lorelai broke the silence.

"Mmm?"

"I'm sorry if I pushed you away."

Christopher looked up at her, a curious and surprised expression on his face.

"I don't know, I guess I got so caught up in how the pregnancy was going to affect your life, and my life, and even our parents' lives, I didn't really think about how it would affect Rory's life. When I heard all those plans our parents were making for us, I just couldn't take it. They ran my life for sixteen years, and I was sitting there listening to them plan the _next_ sixteen, the part of my life that was supposed to be _mine_. And _yours_. Not theirs. And yet there they were, taking over just like they always do. I guess I just sort of snapped."

Christopher shifted the bottle of vodka into his other hand and put his free arm around Lorelai's shoulders.

Lorelai continued, "And I didn't really consider how it would affect Rory."

"But you're doing an amazing job with her, she's doing great," Christopher protested.

"No thanks to me. It's gotta be in the genes or something," Lorelai replied. "She's such an easy, fantastic kid. But Chris, she still misses you."

Christopher looked down at the floor.

"So I'm sorry if I pushed you away," Lorelai repeated, "and we'd really like it if we could see you around here more often."

"Both of you?" Christopher asked, reaching over to turn her head towards him gently.

"Of course, both of us."

"I was actually thinking about taking the two of you to Times Square for New Year's Eve," he said. "I wasn't sure if you'd be interested."

"Well I have to work, but Rory would love that," Lorelai replied.

"Who the heck works on New Year's Eve?"

"Prostitutes, drug dealers, Dick Clark, and every party planner in the world," Lorelai informed him.

"And which of those categories are you in?" Chris joked.

"Definitely not Dick Clark, the rest is up for debate," she replied. "So can I tell Rory you'll be by to pick her up?"

"Tell her to be ready at 6," Chris replied, leaning in to brush his lips against hers.

Lorelai stiffened and pulled back, not expecting this development. "Christopher," she began.

Christopher pulled away, and sat back into the couch. He took another swig of vodka and leaned his head back, closing his eyes.

"Are you seeing someone?" he asked finally.

"No."

"Did I misunderstand the whole 'wanting me around more' thing?"

"Maybe. I just…" Lorelai stammered.

"You just what, Lorelai?" he demanded.

"Chris, I have a kid. There is no casual dating for single mothers. If I'm going to get involved with someone, I need to be certain that it's someone I can count on 100."

"You don't trust me," he said.

"Chris, you don't exactly have the greatest track record. If I'm going to bring someone into Rory's life…"

"Lor, I'm her _father_," he interrupted her. "I'm already in her life. Doesn't that simplify things a little?"

"Actually, Chris, it makes them about ten times more complicated."

They sat in silence, contemplating. Lorelai reached for the bottle and Christopher passed it over. She took another drink.

"I guess I should go," Christopher finally said, standing up.

Lorelai looked up at him apologetically. "Chris, I _did_ mean it, that we'd both like to see you more. Rory needs you, and if you could just…" Lorelai trailed off.

"If I could just _what_, Lorelai?" he asked her bitterly. "I'll see you around."

"Merry Christmas, Chris," Lorelai said sadly as she watched him gather up his bags and head out the door.


	8. Chapter 8

And now it was New Years Eve at the Inn and Lorelai was directing traffic as the waitstaff worked on setting up the dining room for that evening's party, the musicians set up their sound system, and the liquor delivery arrived and unloaded case after case of beverages.

In the midst of everyone running to and fro, Rory appeared in the lobby and came over to see Lorelai, who was rifling through notes in her planner behind the front desk. She looked up and spotted Rory. "Got your long johns on?" she asked her. "It's going to be a cold night in Times Square."

"Yes, Mom," Rory replied obediently. "Long johns, three layers underneath my wool sweater, _and_ two pairs of socks."

"Oh, you _are_ prepared. Those Boy Scouts have got nothing on you, babe."

Michel overheard their conversation and joined in. "You are going out tonight?" he asked Rory.

"Times Square, my dad is taking me," Rory replied.

"I cannot see why anyone would drive through all that traffic to spend the night outside in the cold next to millions of other smelly bodies," Michel commented.

"Yeah, but the hot chocolate is awesome," Rory replied.

"_And_ you get to be on TV," Lorelai added.

Rory rolled her eyes. "Yeah, in a crowd of about a million other people, it's not like anyone's going to actually see me."

"Well, I have a perfectly wonderful evening planned," Michel informed them. "I will be out dancing the night away, and toasting the New Year with the perfect glass of champagne and the perfect kiss at midnight. Much preferable to contracting pneumonia," he addressed Rory, "and working here like one of the Queen's minions," he said towards Lorelai.

Lorelai gasped. "Michel, _you're_ going to have a _drink_?"

"Every New Year's Eve I permit myself one glass of champagne, and I intend to savor it fully. So you can think of me tonight, warm and comfortable, sipping champagne on the dance floor while you are treating your frostbitten toes and fighting miles and miles of traffic in the smog-filled city."

Suddenly Lorelai spotted the bartender motioning to her. "Sounds like a blast, Michel. Excuse me for a moment." She went into the dining room to see what he wanted.

She was immediately inundated by a swarm of party workers with endless questions, so a few minutes later, when Michel motioned to her that she had a phone call, she motioned back to him to take a message.

After dealing with a liquor crisis (only two out of three cases of rum were delivered), a problem the musicians were having with the power supply, and after making sure all the servers were instructed to start pouring the champagne at 11:30 so that all partygoers would have a glass in their hands before midnight, Lorelai found her way back info the lobby where Rory was still waiting for Christopher to show up.

She went over to the front desk where Michel was working.

"Who was on the phone?" Lorelai asked.

"Somebody named Christopher," Michel replied. "He says that he has the flu and will not be coming tonight."

Lorelai made a conscious effort to stop herself from punching the wall in fury. She took a deep breath, bit her tongue, and slipped back into the kitchen, where she found Sookie sitting on the floor, rubbing her knee vigorously.

"Tripped over some baking pans," she explained when she spotted Lorelai. One of the kitchen staff came by and handed her an ice pack, which she applied to her knee. Suddenly she noticed the look on Lorelai's face. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Things are about to get a bit _War of the Roses_ with Christopher," Lorelai replied, pacing back & forth. "He just cancelled on Rory tonight."

"Oh no," Sookie said sympathetically. "She was so excited about it too."

"You wouldn't happen to have a thumbscrew on you, would you? I'm so furious with him I think I'd really enjoy crushing a small, sensitive part of his body right now."

Sookie motioned to her to sit down on the floor with her. "Did he say why?" she asked.

Lorelai obliged and sat down, while the kitchen staff continued their work, navigating their way around them. "He has the flu," she replied, in a voice that clearly indicated she didn't believe Chris' excuse for a second.

"Well you never know…" Sookie said.

"Sookie, I talked to him yesterday to confirm this and he sounded as healthy as an ox who just quit smoking, turned vegetarian and started an exercise routine. And even if he is sick, I'm sorry, but he needs to just suck it up. He's disappointed her enough already."

"How did Rory take it?"

"I haven't told her yet," Lorelai admitted. "I just got the message. I ducked back in here because I didn't want her to see my head explode."

Sookie giggled. "I wonder if anyone's head has ever actually exploded."

"God, I am such an idiot," Lorelai continued. "We had our little talk the other night, and I was thinking it might actually make a difference. I _told_ him how much Rory misses him, I _told_ him we wanted him around more, I even apologized to him for this whole situation we're in. How stupid am I that I thought things might be different now? I may as well have been talking to Marlee Matlin."

"Honey, I don't know what you're apologizing for, but if he doesn't want to be involved, there's nothing you can do about it."

"Oh, but he _does_ want to be involved with me," Lorelai said cynically. "And I can't get involved with him if I can't trust him to be there for Rory."

"Well it's his loss," Sookie assured her.

"And his daughter's," Lorelai replied sadly. "God, it's like there's no middle ground with him. If he can't have me, he doesn't want anything to do with either one of us." Lorelai sighed. "I guess I should go tell her. So no thumbscrew then? How about a garrotte? Nice, long, painful choking death?"

Sookie shook her head and Lorelai went back out into the lobby to find Rory. "Come on," she motioned for Rory to follow her, and led her into the Inn lounge, which was empty.

She turned to face Rory. "Hon, I have some bad news," Lorelai informed her.

"Dad's not coming," Rory guessed.

Lorelai sighed. "You should _not_ have been able to anticipate that so easily. I'm sorry, sweetie, he's got the flu. He says he's really sorry, and he'll make it up to you."

Rory looked down at the floor. "Why does he always do this?" she asked.

Lorelai sighed. "Oh honey, I know you're disappointed. I don't know what to tell you, except to say that he didn't do it on purpose."

"I guess I can change out of my million layers of clothes," Rory resigned herself.

"Hey," Lorelai said, brightening up, "I've got another idea. Why don't you call Lane and see if she'd like to spend the night here? Do you know if she's doing anything tonight?"

"I think her mother was taking her to a midnight prayer vigil but maybe she'd let her come over here instead."

"Come on, let's give her a call," Lorelai said.

The two of them strode back out to the lobby and behind the front desk, where Rory picked up the phone and dialed.

"Hi, Lane, it's Rory," Rory began. She paused while Lane spoke on the other end, then continued. "Hey, the thing with my dad tonight isn't happening, so my mom and I were wondering if you'd want to sleep over."

Rory put her hand over the receiver and looked up at Lorelai. "She's checking with her mom," she said. Then she uncovered the receiver and spoke into the phone. "Oh, hi Mrs. Kim. Sure, OK." Rory held the phone out to Lorelai. "Mrs. Kim wants to talk to you."

Lorelai took the phone and held it to her ear. "Hi Mrs. Kim."

"You want Lane to spend the night with you?" Mrs. Kim asked on the other end.

"Um, yeah," Lorelai replied. "I just thought the girls would enjoy having a little New Year's Eve party together."

"You have boys there?" Mrs. Kim demanded.

"No, of course not," Lorelai protested. "I mean, yeah, we've got a party going on at the Inn, but the girls won't be at it."

"But you will be?"

"I work here, I'm hosting the party."

"So you host party, or you watch my daughter?" Mrs. Kim asked.

"Mrs. Kim, we've got a lounge here at the Inn where Rory hangs out all the time. The girls will be in there, they'll be away from the party but I'll still be nearby to watch them."

"Is there alcohol at this party?"

"Um, yes," Lorelai replied, "but my daughter won't be going anywhere near it and I can assure you neither will yours."

"You say prayers before bed?"

"Um, sure," Lorelai stammered. "We can do that."

"Lane must say prayers and read two chapters in the Bible each night. You must make sure."

"Yes, Mrs. Kim," Lorelai agreed.

"You have guns at your Inn?" asked Mrs. Kim.

"Well I don't personally, but I think the gangsters in room 214 were carrying," Lorelai joked.

"No guns," Mrs. Kim insisted.

"No, I'm sorry Mrs. Kim, I was just making a humorous comment, sometimes referred to as a joke."

"My daughter does not eat meat or dairy products. You have food for her, or should I send some Tofu Pups with her?"

"Some what?"

"Tofu Pups. Vegetarian hot dogs," Mrs. Kim explained.

"Oh, that's not necessary, I'm sure Sookie can come up with something for her," Lorelai replied.

"Lane must be in bed by 11:00. Do you understand my rules?"

"Yes, Mrs. Kim. I'm sure everything will be fine. She can come on over whenever she's ready." Lorelai said goodbye and hung up the phone.

"Is she coming?" Rory asked.

"Yes, but I may need to hire an armed guard just for her," Lorelai replied.

* * *

The party was in full swing. It was 10:30 and Lorelai had everything under control at the party. She ducked into the kitchen to check on Sookie and the food. 

"How can people eat so many jalapeno poppers?" Sookie wondered upon seeing Lorelai. "I swear we've gone through at least three for each and every person out there."

"I think Mrs. Finelli has eaten about half of them on her own," Lorelai replied.

"So how did Rory take the news?"

"Rory is Rory," Lorelai replied. "She was disappointed, but she wasn't surprised, she's handling it and moving on."

"And you?"

Lorelai paused for a moment to think. "You know, I never realized how much I've been biding my time, waiting for Christopher," she said.

"Why?"

"I guess deep down I thought he'd be ready some day, ready to be a real family man. And now I kind of feel like I've unloaded this huge weight since I spoke to him the other night. I've spent all this time blaming myself, feeling guilty for not giving Rory a real home or family to grow up with, because I was the one who didn't want to get married."

"Lorelai, she _has_ a real home and a family," Sookie assured her.

"You know what I mean," Lorelai replied. "But we talked, and now he knows how much Rory misses him, how much we'd like to see him more, and he still chose not to follow through." Lorelai sighed. "Maybe it's not fair to draw all these conclusions from one incident, but I still feel better. The ball's in his court now, it's all off my shoulders. Even it turns out that he really is sick, and next week he decides to turn into Father of the Year, it's still all up to him."

"I hope he does turn into Father of the Year," Sookie said. "That little girl deserves it."

"I hope so too," Lorelai said sadly. "But I think it's about as likely as George Lucas getting a crew cut."

* * *

Lorelai went to check on the girls, who were in the tool-shed-turned-house getting ready for bed. 

"OK, now I promised Mrs. Kim that Lane would be in bed by 11:00, but that doesn't mean she has to be sleeping. Now Lane, you did your reading assignment?"

"First Corinthians, chapters 9 & 10," Lane confirmed. "Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils."

"Good. Rory, Sookie's making some fantastic looking ice cream sundaes, would you like one?"

Rory nodded eagerly.

"OK. Now we know that Lane isn't allowed to have ice cream, so let's just all be clear that if I bring two spoons with the sundae, it's just so that Rory has an extra in case the first one gets dirty." Lorelai winked at Lane, who smiled in return.

Lorelai switched on the TV. "I'll be back in about 15 minutes with the sundae, and I'll be checking on you periodically all night, so no playing with explosives or dissecting small animals. For now, I leave you in Dick Clark's capable hands."

"Happy New Year, Mom," Rory chimed in.

"Happy New Year, Lorelai," Lane added.

"Happy New Year," Lorelai said back to both of them.

_tbc_

Next up: Menu planning for the wedding, Anna shows her true colors and Luke lets it all hang out.


	9. Chapter 9

"OK, let's start with the basics: do you want sitdown service or buffet style?" Lorelai asked.

Lorelai and Sookie were meeting with Anna and Luke to discuss menu planning for the wedding. It was a lunch meeting at the Inn, and they had brought April along, who sat in a high chair eating pieces of fruit and Cheerios, and occasionally throwing her sippy cup on the floor just to make sure they didn't all forget she was there.

Anna and Luke replied simultaneously.

"Buffet," Luke said.

"Sitdown," Anna said. She turned to Luke in surprise. "I thought we had decided this."

"We did decide," Luke said. "We decided that people don't like being shackled to a chair with a table full of other people they didn't choose to sit with in the first place, and given prearranged portions of food that they may or may not like."

"Sitdown is just so much more elegant," Anna protested. "Do you want people to remember this as the wedding where they were free to mill about as they pleased," she rolled her eyes as she said this, "or the event where their every request was promptly catered to, leaving them with plenty of time to socialize with their neighbors and enjoy the ambiance of their surroundings?"

"Of course it's impossible to enjoy ambiance with a buffet table in the way," Luke said sarcastically.

"Luke…" Anna protested.

Luke sighed in resignation. "Fine," he conceded grudgingly.

"You don't need to decide immediately," Lorelai interjected gently. "Why don't you discuss it some more and let me know? We would just need to know by the 23rd so that we know how many servers we'll need."

"OK, now did you have any thoughts on your appetizers?" Sookie asked. "Ooh, I just made these amazing sausage balls yesterday, you've _got_ to try them."

"Oh, you have to try Sookie's crab puffs too," Lorelai said. "They're _unbelievable_. She's actually got crabs lining up _asking_ her to puff them."

"Hey, do you do fried calamari?" Luke suggested.

Anna made a face. "Ugh, I hate calamari. Always feels like I'm chewing rubber. What if we went a little ethnic and did some spring rolls?"

Sookie got excited. "Ooh, and we could do a Thai chicken satay on skewers, and some fish cakes with cucumber sauce, and a tropical fruit salad…" she began scribbling ideas down on her pad of paper.

"You know, not everybody likes Thai food," Luke said. "How about some mozzarella sticks or something too?"

"Mozzarella sticks? Luke, this isn't a diner," Anna snapped back at him.

Luke gritted his teeth and turned away from her to feed April another slice of banana.

Anna leaned over to him. "Sorry," she said as she leaned over and squeezed his hand. "That didn't come out right. I just meant that a wedding is a pretty upscale event, and mozzarella sticks don't really seem to fit in with that kind of feel."

"Mm-hm," Luke replied. He continued to feed April, who was beginning to squirm in her high chair, and did not look back at Anna.

"OK, one thing before I forget," Lorelai interjected, "will there be any guests on special diets? Vegetarian, kosher, anything like that?"

"Yeah, actually, my sister…" Luke began, but Anna cut him off.

"Don't even go there," she said, waving him off.

Lorelai looked back & forth between them. "Is it something we can help with?"

Anna rolled her eyes. "Luke's sister just started this ridiculous macrobiotic diet, it basically consists of barley and steamed vegetables. And now she's inflicting it on her kid too. I swear we should start a pool going as to how much weight Jess is going to lose before she caves and lets him eat a hamburger."

"Well, if you could give us some ideas…" Lorelai began.

"Don't worry about it," Anna assured Lorelai and Sookie. "She can't expect people to accommodate her bizarre diet everywhere she goes."

Luke disagreed. "We're paying them enough money to support a small guerilla army; they should at least be able to come up with a serving or two of rabbit food for Liz and Jess."

Anna shook her head again. "Luke, This is _Liz_ we're talking about. You know she'll be over and done with this whim of hers long before the wedding." She turned to Lorelai. "This is the same woman who borrowed $10,000 from her father to start a business making plastic wishbones. The business lasted a month, and Liz's boyfriend ended up making off with the money instead. She's the biggest flake you'll ever meet."

"Anna," Luke growled.

"And Luke gets all protective of her," Anna said warmly. "Even though he's the one who ends up bailing her out nine times out of ten, especially since their dad died."

"That's very chivalrous," commented Lorelai.

"Just call me Lancelot," Luke commented as he got up and started cleaning April's face off. "She's not going to sit here much longer, I'm going to take her outside."

"Do you want me to watch her while you go over things with Sookie?" Lorelai offered.

"She's actually pretty nervous around strangers," Anna replied. "Luke, stay. We'll manage."

"You can deal with this on your own," Luke replied dryly as he picked up April and headed out the door.

"Everything OK?" Sookie wondered.

"He'll be fine," Anna replied. "Let's keep going."

"OK, now what sort of salads did you have in mind?" Sookie proceeded on. "We could do a regular green salad, but if you wanted something really different, I've got a bunch of ideas…"

"Excuse me for a moment," Lorelai said suddenly, "I just need to check on the flower delivery for the Gallagher wedding this weekend."

She left Sookie and Anna to discuss the finer points of vinaigrettes, made a quick phone call to the florist, and then ducked out back of the Inn, where she found Luke taking a walk with April around the grounds. She made her way over to them just as Luke was extracting an acorn from April's mouth.

"About 6 more months," she informed him.

"What?"

"You've only got about 6 more months of the whole putting-everything-in-their-mouths stage and then it's on to the 'I wanna do it' stage. She'll start insisting on doing everything on her own, and trying to help you, only it'll take you twice as long to get it done if you let her."

Luke grunted in reply.

"So – wow," Lorelai began. "I thought I was going to have to get you a towel for that bloody tongue of yours."

"What?" he asked.

"Bloody tongue? From biting it so much?"

Luke grunted in reply.

"It just seems to me like…well, you don't seem like the invertebrate type."

He looked at her questioningly.

"Invertebrate. Sometimes a euphemism for 'spineless?' The kind of guy who lets people make decisions for him like that."

Luke was still silent as he picked up a stone and skipped it across the surface of the pond.

"I know I'm getting in way over my head by asking this, but why do you let her?"

At this, Luke erupted into a rant. "Why do I let her? Let's see, why do I let her? Maybe it has something to do with the fact that the one time I brought up the subject of how bossy she is, we ended up breaking up? And maybe because of the fact that she almost didn't even bother to tell me about the pregnancy? She was going to leave me out of it entirely? And when she finally _did_ decide to tell me, she was already seven months along? I don't know, maybe it's got something to do with that."

"She told me she didn't think you would've wanted to be involved.," Lorelai said.

"What the hell kind of guy doesn't want to be involved with their kid?" Luke asked. "She didn't _want_ me involved. _She_ wanted to run the show."

Just then, April took off running down an incline, lost her balance and tumbled down. Luke ran over to pick up and comfort his crying daughter. He rubbed her bumped knee until she calmed down, then put her down again.

"You should've been a mailman," Lorelai informed him.

"What?"

"You're in the wrong line of work. With all that baggage you're carrying around, you'd be a natural. Luke, you need to talk to her. Is this really how you want your marriage to be for the rest of your life?"

"We'll be fine," Luke assured her.

"You sound more like a soldier going off to war than someone who's about to get married to the love of his life."

April took off down towards the pond. Lorelai watched as Luke ran to retrieve her before she fell in the water. Lorelai walked down to the water's edge to join them.

April had discovered how interesting it was to toss stones into the water, and was keeping Luke busy trying to make sure she didn't end up drenching herself in the process. Lorelai watched them in silence for a few minutes.

Finally Luke responded. "She needs a father," he stated simply.

"Are you some sort of mirage that disappears after sundown? Because it looks to me like she _has_ a father," Lorelai replied.

"She does now," Luke said.

Lorelai began to realize what he was saying. "Are you seriously telling me you're only marrying Anna because of April?" she asked.

Luke winced and looked down at the ground. "There are other reasons," he said in an entirely unconvincing voice.

"Man, you and Christopher both, you'd make quite a pair," Lorelai observed.

"Who?"

"Christopher. Rory's father."

"You're comparing me to _him_?" Luke asked in surprise.

"Tweedledum & Tweedledee. Butch & Sundance. Bert & Ernie," Lorelai said.

"You're comparing me to some guy who walked out on his kid?"

"I'm comparing you to some guy who _was_ going to marry me when he found out about the pregnancy, despite the fact that it would've been a disaster of Woody & Mia proportions. And I'm comparing you to some guy who can't seem to see any option other than 'all in' or 'all out.' Marriage, or Robert DeNiro in _Awakenings_."

Luke was staring at her in shock.

"There's got to be a third option," Lorelai insisted. "Luke, you're the only one who really knows how you feel about Anna, but if you don't love her, you're really not doing your daughter any favors by marrying her."

Luke went after April, who had started pulling flowers out of a flower patch, and did not reply.

* * *

A/N: Can you believe that somebody actually did start a business making plastic wishbones? _And_ they made millions off it? 


	10. Chapter 10

MAY 1994 – SEVERAL MONTHS LATER

"Oh, my God, if Michel can't just suck it up and risk those perfectly-manicured hands of his by carrying a single box of cleaning supplies upstairs, I think I'm going to have to lock his skinny butt in a box and ship him back to France on a raft."

Lorelai entered the kitchen at the Inn in search of Sookie and instead found David there, braising some lamb chops for that evening's dinner. "Oh, sorry, David" she said. "I was looking for Sookie."

David indicated a knife sitting on a nearby cutting board. "She went in search of some Band-aids," he explained.

"Oh, well if you see her, can you tell her I'm going to lunch? I'll be back in about an hour."

"How come you never steal my food any more?" David asked suddenly.

"What?" Lorelai asked, surprised.

"You're going out to lunch again. You're not swiping my food. You used to help yourself to muffins, croissants, sandwiches, I used to find dirty pie-plates behind the front desk all the time, and I swear our profit ratio on coffee has increased measurably."

Just then, Sookie and Michel entered the kitchen. Lorelai could see some bandages wrapped liberally around Sookie's left hand.

"You yelled at me constantly for taking food," Lorelai replied. "I'm failing to see the problem here."

Michel offered his own explanation. "Like all mediocre chefs, he is sensitive to the point of hysteria whenever anyone appears to lose a taste for his cooking."

"You're calling _me _'sensitive to the point of hysteria'?" David commented wryly. "May I remind you of a certain stray-nose-hair incident?"

"She _has_ been eating here less," Sookie observed.

"Because I was threatened with having my pay docked," Lorelai protested, leaning over the table and helping herself to a cookie.

David seemed satisfied with this explanation and went back to braising lamb chops. Sookie, however, was still curious and followed Lorelai as she headed out into the lobby.

"So you're going out for lunch?" Sookie asked.

"Yeah, do you want to come?" Lorelai offered, only half paying attention as she rifled through her organizer.

"Oh, no, thanks, I've got some quiches in the oven that need attention. So you've been eating out a lot, then?"

Lorelai looked up from her organizer. "Officer, I assure you I was nowhere near the premises at the time of the crime, nor did I have any contact with the victim."

"Did Mia give you a raise or something?" Sookie asked.

"Officer, I swear, I have an alibi, I just need to find where he went after the cops shut down the crackhouse."

"Lorelai," Sookie protested, "I'm just curious. The whole time I've known you, you've been saving every spare penny you could get your hands on, but now suddenly you're eating out every day? Where are you getting all this money?"

"It's not _that_ much money," Lorelai objected. "My dad gave me a big fat Christmas check, and besides, David was about to have me thrown in a Guatemalan drug-lord prison if I kept raiding the kitchen."

"Never stopped you before," Sookie muttered as she headed back to tend her quiches.

* * *

"…did not order a cheeseburger, if you had ordered a cheeseburger you would've gotten a cheeseburger. What you order is what you get. Seems like a pretty simple concept, but people just can't seem to grasp it." 

Lorelai entered the diner to find Luke ranting at a customer, his back turned to her.

She found her way over to the counter and sat down, as Luke finished his rant and continued over to the doorway leading upstairs, pausing to kick at a French fry that had been dropped on the floor.

"And if you drop something, _pick it up_," he growled at nobody in particular and everybody in general. "Bunch of pigs, nobody treats their homes this way, but come here and anything is fair game." He disappeared upstairs without turning around.

Lorelai waved hello to Miss Patty and Babette, who were lunching together at a nearby table, and Kirk who was eating alone at the next table over.

A few moments later, Caesar emerged from the kitchen and came out behind the counter. "Ready to order?" he asked Lorelai, poised with pad and pen.

"Coffee, burger, fries," Lorelai rattled off. "So what's his problem today?" she asked, nodding her head towards the doorway where Luke had disappeared.

Caesar rolled his eyes. "I can't take much more of this from him. Is your place hiring any cooks?"

"You're not jumping ship, are you Caesar?" Babette chimed in from behind Lorelai.

"Boss getting to be too much for you?" Miss Patty asked.

"He actually docked my pay yesterday because some customer sent their tuna sandwich back," Caesar complained. "And he's getting so nasty to the customers, I'm not getting any tips."

"Could it be troubles at home with the Wicked Witch?" Miss Patty said hopefully.

"He slept here again last night," Caesar informed them. "Some lame excuse about breaking in a new bread delivery guy."

"That's three times this week," Babette observed.

"How on Earth did I miss all this?" Lorelai wondered. "I've been here every day this week."

"Oh, sugar, it's been a busy week," Babette explained. "Yesterday all we could talk about was the Deslondes divorce. And Tuesday, Tracey Wasserman's breast implants were the big news."

"Do you know if they've tried any couples therapy?" Kirk asked. "I'm fully certified as a Mars/Venus Relationship coach."

"I really can't see Luke going to couples therapy," Lorelai said.

"Classic example of Cognitive Dissonance disorder," Kirk explained.

Luke suddenly reappeared in the doorway and before everyone even had time to realize that they needed to hush up their conversation, Luke was bellowing away at Caesar, "Caesar, did you refill the damn ketchup dispensers like I've been asking you to do for three days now?"

Lorelai had the distinct impression that there would have been more to this rant, but suddenly Luke caught sight of her sitting at the counter and his face brightened. He came over to greet her.

"Hey," Luke said.

"Hey," she replied. "I see you've got the power-hungry despot routine down pat."

"Eh," Luke shrugged her off.

"So can I make a suggestion?" Lorelai asked.

"I am _not_ putting in individual jukeboxes at every table," Luke insisted.

"No, I'm giving up on that idea," Lorelai replied.

"So is this suggestion personal or professional?" Luke asked.

"Well it was going to be professional, but now that you mention it, I am sensing a Qi blockage. You should consider having that spleen meridian checked out."

"I'll see what I can do," Luke replied. "So what's the suggestion?"

"Well at first I was thinking that you should get a Mariachi band to play here, but I'm guessing you won't like that any more than the jukeboxes."

"Liking it _less_ than the jukeboxes," Luke replied. "At the moment, the jukeboxes are sounding like a great idea."

"Really?"

"No. What's the damn suggestion?"

"Mexican food. Burritos, tacos, nachos."

"With some Cheerios and Spaghetti-Os to go with them?"

"I'm telling you, they'd be hot sellers."

"Maybe." Luke changed the subject. "So how'd the retirement party come off last night?" he asked her.

"Oh, it was fine, other than one incident with Mr. McNair and the spinach dip," Lorelai replied.

"Excuse me?"

"Well, remember last night was pretty warm, so I was wearing my pink dress with the short sleeves."

"With the purple flowers," Luke confirmed.

"Yeah, that's the one," Lorelai said, looking up at him for a moment, surprised. She continued with the tale. "So then Mr. McNair, who is apparently a reformed alcoholic, so he can't even use alcohol as an excuse, well he comes barreling around the corner, not looking where he's going, and spills his plate of spinach dip all over the front of my dress."

"Probably the closest you've been to any vegetables this year," Luke replied.

Lorelai ignored him. "So then he's all apologies, grabbing a bunch of napkins and a glass of seltzer to get the stain out, and the next thing I know, he's practically _feeling _me_ up_. I seriously think he did the whole thing _on purpose_. I swear, I don't think I've worked a single event in the past three months where the host, or the host's husband, or their nephew, or their _daughter _even, or their daughter's best friend's sister's mailman wasn't coming on to me."

"Well," Luke replied in a knowing voice.

Lorelai paused and looked at him inquiringly. "Well what?" she asked.

Luke suddenly flushed redder than Khrushchev with a sunburn, and looked down at the floor. "Well…you know," he muttered, embarrassed.

"No, I don't know, and if you don't let me in on the secret I'm going to pummel you with pickles until my world-famous perseverance wears you down and you wind up in a ball on the floor, crying like a girl."

Finally Luke got aggravated. "You're not entirely hideous to look at, that's all," he said in an annoyed tone.

A grin spread across Lorelai's face as she gasped playfully. "Not entirely hideous? Oh, such flattery! _Not entirely hideous_. Wow, so I guess that puts me a step above Medusa but perhaps not quite on par with Janet Reno?"

"Your sense of humor, on the other hand, ranks down there with Henry Kissinger," Luke replied snidely.

"Oh, but with a 'not entirely hideous' face like this, I am _so_ worth it," Lorelai teased.

Once again, Luke changed the subject. "So are you guys going to be around this weekend?"

Not sure where this was leading, it was Lorelai's turn to flush. "Uh…yeah…we'll be around," she stammered.

"Bring Rory by," Luke instructed her. "I found my mother's antique china doll that I was telling her about. She might like to see it."

"I have no memory of this conversation. When were you talking about your mother's china doll with Rory?" Lorelai asked.

"Saturday when you guys were here. You were busy with Babette and Miss Patty, reveling in the misfortunes of others at the time."

"Oh. Uh, yeah, we can probably come by," Lorelai confirmed. "So is Rory 'not entirely hideous' too? Or does she qualify as 'remotely tolerable?'"

"She may even be vaguely unobjectionable, especially next to you," Luke replied.

"Hey, Luke, do we have any more mayonnaise?" came Caesar's voice from the kitchen.

"Yeah, hang on a sec," Luke replied as he headed back into the storeroom to fetch a jar.

Lorelai began flipping through the pages of her organizer, reviewing her to-do list for the remainder of the day while she waited for her order to be delivered.

Suddenly she heard Miss Patty's voice behind her. "Well, well, well, suddenly everything becomes clear."

"What?" Lorelai asked, perplexed.

"Did you see how he brightened right up when he saw her?" Babette chimed in.

"You _might_ try to show at least a _little_ professional courtesy by not _flirting_ with my client before he's even begun therapy," Kirk said irritably.

"What are you talking about?" Lorelai asked. "We weren't flirting."

"Oh, honey, I've flirted with more men than you'll ever even meet," Miss Patty replied. "I know flirting when I see it, and _that_, my dear, was _definitely_ flirting."

"Oh, nobody blames you, sugar," Babette said. "Luke is one prime hunk of beef."

Lorelai was mortified. "But…no," she insisted. "He's engaged. I'm not trying to…"

"Of course you're not, dear," Miss Patty said patronizingly.

Caesar emerged from the kitchen and placed Lorelai's food down in front of her.

"Um, can I get that to go?" Lorelai asked uncomfortably.

* * *

Lorelai left the diner furtively a few minutes later with her bagged lunch in hand. 

She was still reeling from the accusation of flirting with Luke. Yes, he was a great guy, not entirely hideous to look at, but he was _engaged_. She was _planning_ his _wedding_.

He was a friend, nothing more. Anna, too – she had enjoyed hanging out with Anna that one time.

Of course they hadn't gotten together again since then...

Now that she thought about it, she had never really hung out with both of them together, the way you'd expect friends to do.

Thinking about it some more, she came to realize that she and Luke didn't really talk about the things that you'd expect friends to talk about in their situation. They didn't talk about wedding plans. And ever since she'd read him the riot act back at the Inn during their menu planning session, they hadn't talked about Anna either. Their conversations were really more like two people who were…well, _flirting_.

And she was becoming conscious of the fact that whenever she needed to speak to Anna about wedding business, she was finding her more irritating to deal with.

_And_ she was forced to admit that when she'd heard Miss Patty and Babette speculating that things might be falling apart between Luke and Anna, there was a voice somewhere, deep down inside her that wasn't entirely displeased at the prospect.

Lorelai shuddered at the realization. Clearly, she was spending too much time at the diner. This could not continue.

_(A/N – ah, but it will! Stay tuned.)_


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Well, I suppose comparisons to _The Wedding Planner_ are inevitable, but let me just mention that I've never actually seen it and did not intend to copy it here. I did track down a plot synopsis online and decided that my story was sufficiently different, but of course you may be the judge of that.

On the other hand, I did borrow snippets of dialog from _That Damn Donna Reed _for this chapter. That part _was_ intentional.

Thanks for reading! On with the story…

* * *

"Oh my God, I didn't think it was possible to have so many Rachel haircuts in the same place at the same time," Lorelai commented. 

Lorelai and Sookie were cleaning up from Caitlin Kessler's sweet-sixteen party. The party had been held outdoors on the grounds behind the Inn, and the weather couldn't have been better for it. It was a lovely, warm Friday night in spring, about 10:00 by the time all the guests had gone home. Sookie was busy packing up the food and bringing it back into the kitchen, while Lorelai worked on directing the staff while they folded up the tables and chairs and cleared everything out of the party tent.

"Did you see Caitlin's father and his wife? I swear she was younger than _us_, she's obviously not her mother," Lorelai commented.

"Twenty-four," Sookie confirmed. "I asked the uncle."

"Can you say 'trophy wife?'" Lorelai said. "She packs away the drinks pretty good, too. I know she would've had me under the table. Good thing her husband can afford an expensive rehab place for her."

"That D.J. wasn't bad-looking, though," Sookie observed, giggling and giving Lorelai a nudge.

Lorelai shrugged. "I guess."

"Floppy blond hair, stubble, thin, muscular body," Sookie prodded.

Lorelai gasped. "When was Brad Pitt here? I didn't get to see him."

"Come on, Lorelai, I saw you talking to him," Sookie teased. "Did you give him your number?"

Lorelai looked annoyed. "God, can't a girl _ever_ have a conversation with a guy these days without being accused of flirting?" she snapped.

Sookie looked stricken.

Lorelai sighed. "I have to get these lights down." She set up the stepladder and began taking down the strings of lights that still glittered throughout the party tent, while Sookie continued cleaning up the food in silence.

"Sorry," Lorelai said a few minutes later. "I'm an idiot. You are hereby permitted to administer floggings at 0800 tomorrow."

"What's been up with you lately, anyway?" Sookie asked.

"Well, I'm not supposed to tell you, but I'm part of a psychology study being done by Johns Hopkins University to see how much bitchiness a chef can take before she starts gouging eyes out with a melon baller."

Sookie looked at her, speculating. "No, there's definitely something bugging you." Suddenly she gasped, and started jumping up and down. "Oh my God, it's a guy, isn't it? Tell me it's a guy."

"It is not a guy," Lorelai denied.

"You've been moping around here for a week, you won't tell me why, and I know you're not PMS'ing. What else could it be?"

"Why does it have to be a guy?" Lorelai protested. "I have better things to do with my life than to get all upset over a guy. I have a job, I have a life, I have a kid that I have to make sure is fully versed in all Cary Grant movies before she turns twelve."

Sookie held up her hands in resignation. "OK, OK, it's not a guy."

They worked in silence for a few minutes, Sookie consolidating all the leftover appetizers onto one tray, while Lorelai wound up strings of lights.

"It _is_ a guy, though, isn't it?" Sookie repeated. "Who is he?"

"Leif Garrett," Lorelai replied. "I've had a thing for him since I was 12, just can't shake it."

"Lorelai," Sookie chided her. "Wow, whoever he is, you must _really_ like him."

Lorelai realized she was defeated. "I don't know if I really like him," she finally admitted. "And there's no point in even talking about it since I'm never going to find out. He's taken."

"Well, you never know," Sookie speculated with a knowing smile. "People break up all the time…" she prodded.

"They have a kid together," Lorelai added.

Sookie's face fell. "Oh," she said.

"Oh," Lorelai echoed. "I have no interest in being a homewrecker. So I'm going cold turkey and not seeing him any more."

"Oh, honey, I'm sorry," Sookie said sympathetically. "But if it helps at all, I think you're doing the right thing,"

"That's my mantra," Lorelai replied. "Just call me Albert Schweitzer."

* * *

A short time later, all the food had been cleared, so Sookie headed back into the Inn to finish cleanup in there, while Lorelai continued breakdown outside. She was continuing to wind up strands of lights when she glanced over towards the Inn and saw a figure coming towards her. 

Her heart started pounding as she recognized the very person they had just been talking about. She climbed down off the stepladder to greet him.

"Hey," Luke said, coming to face her.

"Hey."

They stood in awkward silence for what seemed to Lorelai like an eternity.

Finally she couldn't take it any more. "What are you doing here?" she asked him.

Luke's eyes darted around at the activity in the party tent behind them. "I just finished closing up the diner and Anna asked me to drop this off. I was going to leave it at the front desk but they said you were back here."

Despite his words, Luke had given no indication of what 'this' was that he was purportedly dropping off. Lorelai gestured expectantly and he suddenly remembered.

"Oh, the seating chart," he said, reaching into his pocket, retrieving a piece of paper and handing it to her.

"Oh, thanks," Lorelai replied. "We can get some nice place cards made up now."

They were lost for words again. Luke looked around at the surroundings, not meeting Lorelai's gaze. Lorelai wanted to scream in frustration.

Finally Luke broke the silence. "So, I haven't seen you in the diner in a while," he observed.

"Oh, yeah," Lorelai replied. "I've just been really busy. Insanely busy. My right & left brains are learning to function independently. I'm thinking of having a catheter permanently installed so I don't have to take time out for bathroom breaks." She laughed nervously.

Luke nodded in acknowledgement, and extended his arm to hand her the paper bag that he had been carrying. "Well, anyway, I thought you might like this, and since you haven't been by I just figured I'd bring it over. I was going to tell the guy at the front desk to stick it in the fridge for you, but since you're here…"

Lorelai was momentarily grateful for the dim moonlight and sparse twinkling of the decorative lights that conveniently hid her face, because she felt herself flush bright red. "What is it?" she asked as she opened the bag and looked in.

"The first official Luke's diner burritos," he replied.

Lorelai stared at him and smiled. "You actually _took_ my suggestion?" she asked, incredulous.

"Yeah, well, it wasn't quite as crazy as some of your other ideas, and I ran it by a few other customers and they seemed to like it, so…" Luke trailed off. "Anyway, I thought you'd like to do a taste test, so here they are."

"Thanks," she replied.

"Yeah, so there's some sour cream and salsa in there if you want it, so you can just try them out and let me know what you think," Luke said, turning to leave.

"Oh, no you don't," Lorelai stopped him.

"What?" Luke said as he paused.

"I am _not_ eating these alone, like some pathetic jilted prom date, and I am _definitely_ not letting them sit all night to get soggy. Have a seat," she ordered, indicating one of the tables that hadn't been broken down yet. "I'll be right back."

Lorelai went over to the server's station for a moment, then returned to where Luke sat. She placed two plates and two glasses on the table. "OK, just one more thing we need."

Luke looked at her questioningly.

"Margaritas," she said with a gleam in her eye. "I think we have some leftover from the party. You can't have burritos without them."

"You're going to have to if you eat them at the diner," Luke informed her. "I don't have a liquor license."

"Hey about that," Lorelai said, "Can I make a suggestion?"

Luke rolled his eyes.

* * *

Lorelai licked sour cream off her fingers as she polished off the last bite of burrito. "OK, I think I can officially give these my highly-revered and sought-after blessing," she said. "And I hope you'll be sure to consult with me on all menu changes in the future." 

"Well since this is the first time I've changed it, don't cont on being consulted very often," Luke replied.

Lorelai gasped. "You've _never_ changed it before? How long have you had the diner?" she asked.

"Oh, about five years, since my dad died," Luke replied, taking a swig of his drink.

"How come you opened a diner, anyway? Why didn't you keep it a hardware store?"

"I don't know," Luke shrugged. "I didn't love the hardware business the way my dad did, and you know, I knew how to cook, so I just thought a diner would be more…fun."

"That's a hard word for you to say," Lorelai laughed.

Luke met her gaze for a long moment as he chuckled. "Yeah, I just always wanted to work there, just where Dad did."

"What about your mom?" Lorelai asked as she finished her drink and reached for the pitcher to pour herself some more. She topped off Luke's drink as well.

"She died when I was a kid," Luke explained, taking a sip.

"That must be so hard," Lorelai sympathized. "How old were you?"

"Eight."

"Do you remember her?" Lorelai asked.

"Just bits & pieces. There was this one time," Luke chuckled as he remembered, "I had gotten into trouble at school, I don't remember what I did, but whatever it was, I was hoping she wouldn't find out. But then I got home and she already knew; obviously my teacher or somebody had called her, but at the time I had no idea how she could've found out. So I asked her how she knew, and she told me she had a crystal ball."

Lorelai smiled. "Mom sees all," she said.

"So then I spent the rest of that day tearing the house apart, looking for that crystal ball," Luke chuckled.

Lorelai laughed. "It must've been hard on your dad, losing her," she said.

"Yeah, he took it pretty hard," Luke confirmed, putting down his drink and leaning back in his chair. "He never slept in their bed again. It was the couch from that day on. He didn't like to talk about her much either. The only time, really, was every St. Patrick's Day. Every year we would get together to watch _The Quiet Man_. You know it?" Luke looked at Lorelai inquiringly.

Lorelai nodded. "Oh, yeah. John Wayne gets in touch with his feminine side after accidentally killing a man, and Maureen O'Hara won't have him for a husband until he's willing to pummel her brother."

"That's the one," Luke said wryly. "Dad always said that Mom looked like Maureen O'Hara."

"She must've been beautiful," Lorelai commented as she gathered the trash from the burritos and stuffed it into the paper bag. "It sounds like they really loved each other."

"Yeah," Luke replied. "We should all be so lucky." He sighed as he remembered.

"You still miss them," Lorelai said.

It was more of an observation than a question, but Luke nodded.

"God, that's nice," Lorelai said. "I mean, not the fact that they're gone, but to be so…I don't know – connected. I would've loved that."

"Well you've got that with Rory," Luke commented.

"I guess so," Lorelai acknowledged.

The activity around them had ceased, all the food and dishes from the party had been cleared and the tables broken down except for the one they were sitting at. Everyone else had gone, and everything around them had become so quiet that they could hear the crickets chirping, and the occasional splash of a frog over in the pond. The two of them were left sitting by themselves under the party tent, surrounded by thousands of sparkling lights.

Lorelai suddenly remembered that she had barely started winding up the lights, and she stood up to continue. "Sorry," she said to Luke, "I just need to get these lights down." She climbed back up onto the stepladder and started winding them up as she pondered Luke's words. "You know, you're right. Rory really is the best thing that's ever happened to me, and I don't just mean that in the way that every mother means it. If it hadn't been for her, I never would've had the courage to leave the whole Stepford life I grew up in. I was facing the prospect of raising her in that guilt-ridden world of my parents', where everything is based on obligation and any real feelings are to be suppressed and hidden. I just couldn't do it. I had to get out"

"Took a lot of guts," Luke observed.

"Try desperation," Lorelai corrected him. "And now we're living paycheck to paycheck, I'm scrimping every penny I can get my hands on, hoping that we can buy a house…someday before I'm eighty, but sometimes I think I've got a better shot at an Olympic Gold in Luge. I don't know if it's ever going to happen."

"It'll happen," Luke contradicted her.

There was such certainty in his voice that Lorelai looked down at him from up top the stepladder, surprised, and just for a moment when she met his gaze, she believed him absolutely. It was like she was seeing herself through his eyes and suddenly she felt that that there was nothing she couldn't do if she was really determined.

"How do you know?" she asked him, almost in a whisper.

"I know."

And then it all came clear. Lorelai realized that, although her hands were continuing to wind up the strands of lights, they had gone to autopilot, and every cell of her conscious being was focused on Luke; on what he was saying, on what he wasn't saying and the spaces between his words, the pitch of his voice, the movements of his hands, absorbing everything she could from him. He wasn't like any man she had ever met before. Certainly nothing like the boys she had grown up with – self-centered, arrogant, spoiled, immature types like Christopher who had had everything come so easily to them and had nothing to give in return. No, Luke was the very opposite: hard-working, decent, and strong. And he believed in her, and that belief in her made her a stronger and better person.

She was falling for him, there was no doubt any more. She was falling far and fast, she was falling deep into a chasm with no bottom in sight, and while a voice somewhere in the back of her mind was trying to tell her that there was something _not right_ here, she didn't care. Any consequence in the world would be worth it if she could have just one moment of pure, perfect love with this man.

And then her foot caught on a strand of lights and she _was_ falling, tumbling off the stepladder, falling in freefall for what seemed like minutes.

Hours.

Surely she should have hit the ground by now…

Suddenly she felt something catch her from behind and she realized that Luke's arms were encircling her waist as he gently lowered her to the ground.

"Thank you," she murmured, breathless.

She realized that he wasn't letting go. She reached down and took hold of his hands that were clasped in front of her waist, and leaned her head back onto his shoulder. Her heart was pounding as she heard his breath quicken, warm against her neck. He began to nuzzle her shoulder, neck, and into her hair.

She loosened his grip around her waist to allow her to turn around. Luke's face was still nestled in her neck as his hands wandered back and forth between her waist, back and hair.

Lorelai placed her hands on either side of his face and pulled away so that they were face to face. Luke responded in turn, leaning in toward her mouth with his…

And then suddenly he was backing away, letting go, still breathless with desire, looking down at the ground, not willing to meet her gaze.

"Sorry," he muttered as he turned to leave. He kicked in frustration at a box that was lying on the ground, then continued back towards the Inn.

Lorelai felt a lump forming in the back of her throat as she watched him go.

_tbc_


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Another sci-fi reference in this chapter. For anyone keeping track, this is the third one. Yes, I'm a geek.

* * *

BBRRINNGG! 

Lorelai was lying in bed, awake, a short time after the encounter with Luke, when she heard the phone ring. She wiped the tears from her eyes and picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Lor?" Christopher said on the other end. "I'm sorry, I just noticed the time."

"It's OK," she replied. "I was awake."

"Are you OK?" he asked, noticing the shakiness in her voice.

"I'm fine. Just watching _The Way We Were_," she lied. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to call…just…wanted to talk to you…" he trailed off.

"Chris, is everything OK?" Lorelai asked, concerned.

"Everything's fine," he replied. "A buddy of mine just became a dad and it just got me thinking…about everything…everything I've missed with Rory. Lor, I'm sorry."

"Wow, that statement could encompass all sorts of things. Exactly what is this in reference to?"

"New Year's Eve. I was upset with you and I just couldn't deal. I know I was acting like a petulant five-year-old."

"Well, I was thinking more like a two-year-old," Lorelai replied. "But you've got the basic idea. But you're apologizing to the wrong person."

"I know, but I wanted to talk to you first. I'd like to take her to the zoo tomorrow to make it up to her."

"Chris, that sounds great. Rory never passes up a chance to go see the turtles. But you do realize that this is coming five months late, don't you?"

"Hey, four and a half," Christopher corrected her. "I was thinking I could come by around 1:00, is that OK?"

"Well we'll be here, but I'm not telling her about it until you actually show up," Lorelai said accusingly. "I'm not getting her hopes up again."

"You can tell her," Christopher assured her.

"I'm not telling her," Lorelai insisted. "You never know, there could be an earthquake, or a falling satellite, or bubonic plague, or you might get trapped by a pair of shrinking boxer shorts that's really a chameleonic genetic mutant creature that wants to suck away your emotions."

"Tell her," Chris emphasized. "If I have to, I'll hire a helicopter to get there, or I'll find a cure for the plague, or I'll send nuclear weapons to destroy the falling satellite, and that might work for that chameleonic mutant creature thing too."

"We'll see," Lorelai considered.

"So what's wrong?" Christopher asked. "And don't give me that _Way We Were_ BS, I know you better than that."

"It's nothing."

"Rory's OK?"

"She's fine."

"Something to do with your parents?"

"My parents are just as dysfunctional as ever. It's nothing, Christopher," Lorelai repeated.

Christopher took a deep breath. "Is it a guy?" he asked in a guarded tone.

"Oh, my God, why does everyone keep asking me that? Am I broadcasting some sort of 'pity me, I'm pathetic' signal?" Lorelai complained.

"Hey," Christopher defended himself. "I asked every other alternative first. So who is he?"

"Keanu Reeves," Lorelai replied. "Love a man in a speeding bus."

"Lorelai," Christopher chided.

"Chris, it's nothing, he's nobody, nothing happened, nothing's going to happen, there's nothing going on and nothing to discuss. And that was possibly the most negatives that I have ever uttered in one sentence at one time."

Christopher pondered for a moment, then took a deep breath. "It's never going to happen for us, is it?" he asked her.

"Chris, I _really_ can't have this conversation with you right now," Lorelai appealed, wiping a fresh tear away on her face.

"Can you just…" Christopher began but Lorelai cut him off.

"Petulant two-year-old," she reminded him.

Christopher sighed. "OK," he conceded.

"Are you still coming for Rory tomorrow?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Christopher asked.

"No reason that I can see," Lorelai replied. "Just checking."

"I need to do better with her," Christopher stated. "She's only young once, and not for much longer. God, I sound like a stupid Hallmark card."

"Well at least you care enough to quote the very best," Lorelai replied.

* * *

And now it was a week later. Lorelai and Luke had managed to avoid each other quite effectively since their ill-fated encounter. It was easy, really; Lorelai had stopped going to the diner and Luke was apparently finding excuses not to participate in wedding planning sessions. 

But there was still Anna to deal with.

Lorelai was meeting with Anna in the dining room of the Inn to go over arrangements for the rehearsal dinner. They sat at a table with sheets of paper spread out in front of them, Lorelai occasionally sipping her iced tea, desperately wishing it was a martini.

Anna was dishing out instructions to Lorelai. "My friend Amanda will be making a speech before dessert; I need you to make sure she doesn't go more than 5 minutes, or she'll end up boring everyone to tears with stories about her stupid dogs. Also please make sure my uncle doesn't have more than two drinks or he'll start making passes at all the bridesmaids. And if you see my friend Lucy talking to my brother, can you run some interference? They used to date and it didn't end well."

Lorelai obliged by making notes of all Anna's instructions.

"Now can we talk about place settings?" Anna continued. "Do you normally do some sort of decorative napkin folding, or do you just stick them in napkin rings?"

"We usually do a fan pattern, stuck in the water goblets," Lorelai informed her.

"That should be fine. Now I'll be presenting the gifts for the wedding party after Amanda's speech. I'll leave them with you when I get here, Can you get someone to bring them over when it's time to present them?"

"Of course," Lorelai replied, adding a note to her list.

"OK, now I just need to figure out what to get for the bridesmaids. Oh, I also need to find a time to go shopping with my mom for a dress for her, and check with the best man on the bachelor party arrangements, and get something for the groomsmen…" Anna rattled off the list in a tense voice.

"Anna," Lorelai suggested as gently as she could muster. "If I could just make a suggestion? I don't want to overstep my bounds here, but maybe you could get your fiancé to deal with some of this? It's just that you seem pretty stressed out, I thought it might do you some good to unload some of the work."

Anna sighed. "He hasn't gotten his passport yet," she informed Lorelai.

"What?"

"I thought he was on board with these honeymoon plans, we talked about going to Paris a while ago, but I double checked with him the other day, just to make sure before I booked the flight, and he _still_ hasn't gotten his passport. And he keeps making excuses to get out of coming to these planning sessions. I can't count on him to do _anything_," she complained.

"Maybe he forgot about the passport?" Lorelai suggested lamely.

"Well now it seems that he doesn't even want to do Paris for the honeymoon, he mentioned something about a weekend in Martha's Vineyard instead. What the hell is that?" she vented. "Who the hell can't spare two weeks for their _honeymoon_?"

Lorelai fought back the urge to reply 'small business owners' and remained silent.

"And it's not just that," Anna continued. "He's just been so…_combative_ lately. It's like everything I say or do is wrong. He's making his own meals all of a sudden; he doesn't want to eat my cooking. We were driving the other day and I swear the man drives like my _grandmother_, and I kept telling him to speed up but he just ignored me. I really think he was doing it just to piss me off. And then there was the whole 'blue shirt' debacle."

Lorelai remained silent with the rapt attention of someone watching a train wreck. She looked at Anna questioningly, inviting her to elaborate.

Anna rolled her eyes. "He has this shirt. It's a complete embarrassment, it's faded, the seams are fraying, it totally makes him look like a vagabond, I keep expecting people to give him handouts whenever he wears it. So we were supposed to meet with the minister the other day and he decides he's going to wear this thing. And, I'm sorry, but I refuse to be seen in public with him wearing it. Especially meeting with the _minister_, for God's sake."

"So what happened?" Lorelai asked.

"He just walked out. He was going to leave without me, if you can believe it," Anna replied. "He was out there with the car started, about to drive off _on his own_, so what else was I supposed to do? I caught up with him and we went, and we were totally pissed with each other through the whole session with the minister. I swear, we'll be lucky if that minister even agrees to do the ceremony." Anna sighed for a moment. "You've never been married, right?" she asked Lorelai.

Lorelai shook her head.

"Ever been in love?"

Lorelai froze, unsure how to respond. After a sickeningly long moment, she decided that any words at this point would be dangerous, so she shrugged.

"It's just…how do you _really_ know when it's right?" Anna asked. "Luke was _so_ amazing when April was born, he's been there every step of the way, he's a wonderful father." She sighed. "I guess…is it possible that I only _think_ I love him because of April?" She looked at Lorelai with an agonized expression, then shook her head. "I don't know why I'm telling you all this. I guess it's probably because you're not involved."

A chill went down Lorelai's spine at these words.

"It's not like I could tell my friends, or my mom or anyone close," Anna continued. "Luke and the rest of the world would probably hear about it within the hour." She sighed and laughed half-heartedly. "Oh, hell, I'm sure I'm worrying about nothing. I mean, all brides have some doubts, right? I'm sure everything will settle down after the wedding's over."

Lorelai had seen enough weddings at the Inn to know that _not_ all brides have doubts, but thought better of informing Anna of this fact. Instead, she rifled through the papers on the table and drew Anna's attention back to the matter at hand. "OK, so with dessert, do you want to offer cappuccino, or just coffee?"

* * *

Lorelai walked into the kitchen of the Inn and took a deep breath. "Oh, my God, Sookie. I seriously thought my mother had prepared me for this whole event-planning gig, but this woman is making me work _really_ hard on perfecting my plan for the perfect murder-suicide. I think my mother could take a few tips from her. Seriously. And that's something I never thought I'd hear myself saying." 

"Who?" Sookie asked.

"Anna. She's turning into a seriously high-maintenance client," Lorelai complained. "She's morphed into a _major_ Bridezilla. She was just sitting there, stressing over _napkin folding_."

Sookie nodded in agreement. "She did seem pretty uptight about which variety of vinaigrette to serve with the salad when I met with her the other day."

"And you know, I think I could handle that part, but she wants to be _friends_, too." Lorelai said distastefully. "I've become some sort of _confidante_. In between worrying about napkins and groomsmen gifts, she's sitting there, telling me her relationship woes. I mean, I don't want to hear this. Who the hell does she think I am, Dr. Ruth?"

"Relationship woes?" Sookie asked, raising an eyebrow.

Lorelai sighed. "It seems that the bride is having some doubts," she said through gritted teeth.

Sookie's eyes widened. "The wedding is in less than a month. What's the problem?"

"Oh, some story about him not having a passport yet for the honeymoon, not wanting to leave the diner for 2 weeks, she says he's getting…how did she put it? 'Combative' with her." Lorelai bit her lip and looked up at the ceiling. "I _really_ can't handle this. I need to get some air," she said, agitated. She turned and headed out back of the Inn.

Sookie followed her outside and watched for a few moments while Lorelai paced back and forth and fought back tears.

Finally Sookie spoke. "This wouldn't have anything to do with a guy there's 'no point in talking about because he's taken?' would it?" she quoted Lorelai's words back to her.

Lorelai sighed and looked at Sookie. "You know, it wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have to _see_ them all the time. I think I could muster up a nice _Casablanca_ attitude about the whole thing, go have a good cry, drown my sorrows in some chocolate amaretto cheesecake, and be done with it. But no, I have to deal with Nessarose on a daily basis complaining about passports and drunken uncles, and treating me like I'm some sort of _friend_."

"Nessarose?" Sookie asked.

"The Wicked Witch of the East, and that just shows you how far gone I am if I'm quoting Miss Patty."

"Was she the one with the green skin?" Sookie asked.

"Miss Patty?" Lorelai asked, confused.

"No, the Wicked Witch of the East," Sookie said.

"No, she's the one who had the house fall on her. The beautiful sorceress who used her feminine wiles to control her subjects." Lorelai continued with her rant, "so then Anna's ranting on about what a jerk Luke has been lately, how totally unreasonable, and I'm sitting there wondering if I can fit my whole fist into my mouth to prevent myself from saying what I really think."

"Which is?" Sookie asked.

"That it sounds to me like he's grown a spine. Plain and simple. Finally," Lorelai informed her.

"He did seem a bit whipped to me," Sookie confirmed.

"Only with her," Lorelai replied. "Only to keep the peace. And now that he's showing this 'combative' side – something known to the rest of the world as 'confidence,' – it seems she's having doubts. She's wondering if she was only enamored with him because he's such a great dad."

"Don't you think it's a little weird that she's telling you all this?" Sookie asked.

"I don't think she has a lot of friends," Lorelai explained. "I think she has a bunch of people who she _calls_ friends, and who go through the motions and perform the functions that we normally _assign_ to friends, but the slightest hint of anything resembling reality and they run screaming. Oh my God, she _really_ needs to meet my mother." Lorelai took a deep breath. "OK, rant over," she announced.

"I'm sorry, honey," Sookie said sympathetically. "But you never know, there's still three weeks…"

"Don't even go there," Lorelai replied. "I swear I'm going to be old and gray by the time this wedding is over. And hopefully very, very drunk."

_tb__c_


	13. Chapter 13

"Rory! Your chauffeur is here!" Lorelai called from outside the Inn as the school bus pulled up.

Rory emerged from the Inn, running down the walkway, all the while struggling to mount her backpack on her back.

"One more week and you'll officially be a fourth grader," Lorelai said, mussing her hair affectionately. "Hey, do you think we should take a camping trip this summer?"

"Why would we want to do that?" Rory asked. "Sleeping on the cold, hard ground, getting eaten by mosquitoes with no easy access to showers?"

"Very good points," Lorelai nodded. "I just thought maybe it was part of my mandatory motherly duties, but I can see that I've instilled far superior values in you than that." She leaned over and gave Rory a peck on the cheek as Rory got onto the bus. "Bye hon."

"Bye, Mom."

Lorelai walked back into the Inn and made her way into the kitchen, where she poured herself a cup of coffee and helped herself to a croissant.

"Lorelai," came David's stern voice behind her.

"Oh, pleeeeease, David," Lorelai begged him. "I was up late last night with the MacDougal anniversary celebration and I didn't get a chance to go grocery shopping. I'm so hungry I'm about to gnaw off my own arm, and if I don't get some calories and caffeine into this body soon you'll have to carry my limp, weak body out of here and you'll all be stuck filling in for me today, and I have two meetings planned with some rather uppity clients."

"So it's threats today," David nodded in an oddly satisfied way.

"That wasn't a threat," Lorelai protested.

"You don't understand," David explained. "Yesterday it was bribery, the day before that it was pity. Michel insisted it would be feminine wiles today but I was betting on threats. He owes me $10."

"Congratulations. Now you can buy me a cup of coffee," Lorelai smirked in reply.

* * *

Lorelai made her way back out into the lobby, cup of coffee in hand, and found Michel behind the front desk. "You lost your bet," she said playfully in a sing-song voice to him. "David's looking for his money." 

"And what did you threaten him with?" Michel asked.

"Doing my job for a day," replied Lorelai. "But really, I can't believe you thought I'd use my womanly charm on David," she accused him. "The man is old enough to be my father."

Michel eyed her up and down. "If I had seen _that_ outfit sooner, I never would've thought so," he said snidely.

"Hey," Lorelai objected.

"Mia is looking for you," Michel informed her. "Two of the maids called in sick today. I think she's going to put you on bathroom-cleaning duty. Unfortunately I am unable to assist due to my demanding and exhausting duties at the front desk," he said, sitting down and taking a leisurely sip of his bottled water.

Lorelai found Mia in the dining room. "Oh, Lorelai, good, I was just going to come looking for you," Mia said upon seeing her. "What does your schedule look like today?"

"Well, I have a meeting with the Dombrowskis at 10, and the Millers at 3:30, but other than that it's pretty light, just the usual checking on flower deliveries and waitstaff and such."

"Good," Mia replied. "I need your help with a few things. Theresa and Mei-Wei both called in sick today, do you think you can call the maid service and get some replacements out here as soon as possible?"

"Got it," Lorelai replied, making some notes in her organizer.

"OK, next: the second dishwasher in the kitchen started leaking last night, so I need you to call a plumber, and make sure they'll be out here no later than tomorrow," Mia continued.

"Check," Lorelai said, making more notes.

"And I need you to check on the linen delivery for tomorrow, they've been shorting us on tablecloths," Mia continued.

"OK," Lorelai acknowledged.

"All right, I think that should about do it," Mia concluded, then paused. "Oh, one more thing; can you call Joanne Smith about the 11th?" Mia asked.

"The 11th?" Lorelai asked, confused.

"Remember she wanted to have her daughter's graduation party here on June 11th, but we were already booked?"

"Yes," Lorelai said hesitantly, still not understanding what Mia was getting at.

"And now we can go ahead and book them," Mia said.

"OK, having a bit of an Alzheimer's moment here," Lorelai complained.

"Oh, didn't Audra give you the message? The Nardini – Danes wedding is off. I'm sorry, I thought you had heard."

Lorelai's heart was suddenly pounding up in her throat. "What happened?" she choked out, trying to appear calm.

"Oh, who knows with these things?" Mia replied. "Well if you didn't hear about that, then I'm guessing you haven't started any of those cancellations. You've got some phone calls to make, you're going to be shackled to the phone for the morning, I'm afraid."

Lorelai wasn't listening. "I'm sorry, Mia, I just need to run out for a few minutes, I'll be back soon. Consider it an early lunch." She grabbed her keys and ran out the door.

* * *

Lorelai approached the diner, her apprehension increasing with each step she took. She rounded the corner and was almost up to the doorway when she paused, unable to decide how to approach Luke. After a moment, she reconsidered, turned and retreated back. 

She didn't get more than half a block when she rethought things once again and stopped. Unable to make up her mind, she headed over to the town square, where she paced for a few moments, then found a bench and seated herself down next to a woman who was reading a book, occasionally glancing up at a group of children who were playing a game of kickball.

There was a tabloid newspaper lying on the bench next to her. Lorelai picked it up, scanned the headlines and started reading a story about an orphan alien who was stranded on Earth years ago and recently wed to a human.

"Oh great," Lorelai muttered out loud to herself, rolling her eyes. "An _alien_ manages to find true love and I'm still sitting here on this bench like Forrest Gump, completely clueless."

"Excuse me?" the woman sitting next to her asked.

"Oh, nothing, sorry," Lorelai replied. She went back to scanning the tabloid, and found a story about a wedding between two sets of conjoined twins.

"But _how_?" Lorelai demanded of the newspaper. "How did they _get_ from 'Miss Swinging Single conjoined twins' to 'Wedded Bliss conjoined twins?' _How_ do people _do_ these things?"

"Conjoined twins?" the woman asked, leaning over to view the newspaper. "Wow, they must have a hard time maneuvering in bed."

Lorelai laughed. "What happens if one of them has a headache? I guess nobody gets any action that night."

"I'd definitely have a headache if I had to watch my sister humping & pumping her husband," the woman commented. "Not that I have a sister, but you know."

"Forget watching, if you're conjoined you'd be _feeling_ it too," Lorelai countered. "Can you just imagine being _literally_ joined at the hip while they're thrusting away? All that jostling? It's not like you could read a book to pass the time. And just think about it – I guess the missionary position would work, maybe doggy-style, but any rolling around is definitely out, and any way you look at it, there's going to be a serious jumble of legs." Lorelai flushed. "OK, now I've definitely crossed the line into _serious_ bad taste. I'm sorry, got a bit of a nervous babbling thing going on today, I'm a bit jumpy."

"Oh please," the woman replied. "You're not babbling. Now, meeting Bill Clinton and telling him your entire sob-story romantic history, from your kid's loser deadbeat dad all the way through the idiot who got you to give up your rent controlled apartment – now _that's_ babbling," the woman assured Lorelai.

Lorelai smiled appreciatively.

"So who's the guy?" the woman asked.

"What guy?"

"The one that's got you all bent out of shape over seeing stories of married aliens and conjoined twins."

"Oh, he's nobody," Lorelai replied. She sighed wistfully. "He's like George Bailey, you know? He's just a regular guy, nothing special, but somehow all the pieces just add up to this amazing person. He's grouchy, he's funny, he's one of those people you just know will always be there for you. He's just…_great_."

"So what's the deal" the woman asked, momentarily glancing up at the game of kickball.

"I don't even know," Lorelai admitted. "He has a kid with this other woman. They were engaged. All I _really_ know is that they decided not to do the big Charles & Di wedding. For all I know they're still engaged and out there shopping for a picket fence as we speak. They could be married, even. Maybe they decided to elope instead." She shuddered at the thought.

"So you're coming to see him to find out what happened?"

"I just ran out as soon as I heard the wedding was off," Lorelai continued. "I didn't even think about what I was going to say. Really, though, the two of them had no business getting married in the first place. We're talking Julia Roberts & Lyle Lovett here. They both as much as told me they don't love each other. But I couldn't interfere, or else it would look like I was..."

"Involved?" the woman supplied.

Lorelai smiled nervously. "Slightly," she agreed. "So I stayed out of it. I _think_ I stayed out of it. I _tried_ to stay out of it." She was silent for a moment, then she added, "Of course there _was_ the burrito night."

The woman raised an eyebrow at her.

"Nothing happened," Lorelai defended herself. "Well, nothing _Biblical_ happened. We almost…but he stopped. But there was definitely a vibe going on there."

"You know, I used to know this guy," the woman informed her. "This is a guy who I swear has never risen above a newt in any of his past lives, but all of a sudden when my husband and I finally decided to split, it was like he was channeling Alan Alda. He suddenly turned into this sympathetic, warm, caring guy." She paused, shook her head and then continued, "It lasted about a week and then he was right back to Neanderthal man. I think he just wanted to be the first one in my pants post-divorce. Still waiting for karma to bite him on that one."

"So you're saying that Luke's only looking for a roll in the hay?" Lorelai asked skeptically.

"I'm just saying that you need to find out where he's at," the woman suggested. She glanced up again at the kickball game and was momentarily distracted as she called out to the players, "hey guys, take it easy."

"What am I supposed to say to him?" Lorelai continued. "'Sorry your family's breaking up, but oh, by the way, would you be interested in diving head-first into another heavy duty relationship with yours truly?'" Lorelai closed her eyes and breathed deeply. "Of course, that's assuming they _are_ breaking up, which we still need to determine," she added.

"Are you friends?" the woman asked.

"What?" Lorelai asked, confused.

"Some people fall in love without ever being friends to begin with, so if they try to do something friendly, it just makes no sense. My second boyfriend after my divorce was like that. But he was a Virgo, so what do you expect?"

"I couldn't begin to imagine," Lorelai replied.

"So are you two friends?" the woman repeated.

"Yes," Lorelai replied.

"Then just be a friend," the woman suggested. "You heard that his wedding was cancelled. You're just a friend who wants to know what happened. You're just checking to see if he's OK."

"But what about…" Lorelai started to ask, but the woman cut her off.

"If the two of you are soul mates, the rest will take care of itself. Right now, just _be a friend_."

At that moment they were distracted by loud voices over by the kickball game. Lorelai looked up and saw two boys shouting at each other, about to come to blows.

"I'll be right back," the woman said, standing up. "I just need to deal with my son before he beats this kid until you can't tell the difference between his face and his ass."

Lorelai pondered her words for a few minutes, then decided to head back towards the diner. Her courage faded, however, the nearer she got. She paused and almost turned back towards the town square, but suddenly froze in place when she saw the door to the diner open and the owner of the establishment emerge.

Lorelai glanced inside the diner, where she saw Miss Patty and Babette doing their best to pretend they weren't watching the scene she was now a part of. She took a deep breath and looked back at Luke, who she had to admit, didn't appear displeased to see her. This gave her a glimmer of comfort.

"Am I under arrest?" he asked her, the slightest hint of a grin showing around the corners of his mouth.

A monosyllable was about all Lorelai could manage at this point. "What?" she replied.

"You've been casing the joint pretty good," he explained.

Lorelai realized then that he had been watching her. He had _seen_ her, pacing back & forth in front, spilling her guts to a total stranger in the town square, and just generally acting like a complete nitwit. Lorelai flushed bright red and had a sudden urge to crawl under the park bench she had become so intimately acquainted with, but instead she took a deep breath and tried to form some sentences. "I just…I heard about the wedding…are you OK?"

"I'm fine," he assured her. And all evidence showed that he was telling the truth. There was a glint in his eye and a lightness about him that hadn't been there before, as if an old, bothersome injury had suddenly healed itself completely.

"What happened?" she asked.

He looked at her directly, deliberately with those eyes of his that enveloped her in their blueness, making her feel as if she were walking in the cloudless sky, simultaneously weightless and strong enough to take on anything life might throw at her.

"I found a third option," he said simply.

Lorelai bit her lip and smiled.

_tbc_


	14. Chapter 14

"Dear God, what did I get myself into?" Luke mused out loud to himself.

"You're referring to the movie, of course, and not the general concept of a social engagement with me, sometimes known as a date?" Lorelai asked.

They were entering the movie theater, where Luke examined the promotional poster for the movie _A Clockwork Orange._ "Works either way, doesn't it?" he replied dryly. "This is supposed to be a _date_ movie?"

"Absolutely, and here's hoping it makes for a memorable one," Lorelai replied.

"'Memorable' does not necessarily equate to 'good,'" Luke informed her as he went to buy some popcorn and Lorelai found them some seats. Luke joined her a few minutes later with a large container of popcorn, which he offered to her.

"You got the large size?" she asked disdainfully.

"With you along I figured it was the safest bet," Luke replied.

"Oh. OK," Lorelai replied in a tone that clearly indicated otherwise.

"Is there a problem?" he asked in an exasperated tone.

"It's the butter," Lorelai said, then paused. "You _did_ get butter on it, didn't you?"

"You know, it's not really butter," Luke objected. "It's probably coconut oil, laden with a three-day allowance of saturated fat; you might as well eat lard straight out of the container. And yes, I did get it. What's the problem?"

"Well," Lorelai explained, "the problem is that they fill up the container and _then_ they squirt on the butter, so only the popcorn on top actually _gets_ butter on it. So the larger the container, the more popcorn there is without butter. That's why Rory and I usually get a small container each."

Luke raised an eyebrow at her.

"OK, _two_ small containers each, but my point still stands."

Just then the lights dimmed as the movie started, silencing both of them as they watched.

* * *

The movie finished, and Luke and Lorelai made their way out of the theater, Luke with a blank, shell-shocked expression on his face. They walked in silence for a few minutes. 

"And you thought this movie was a good idea…_why_?" Luke asked finally.

"It's a _classic_ cult movie," Lorelai replied. "It's a thought-provoking social commentary that you _know_ you'll never forget."

"Just what I wanted for a first date," Luke replied ironically. "I think I need some eye drops. And I know I'll never listen to Beethoven the same way again."

"Like you ever did listen to Beethoven," Lorelai said sarcastically. "So I guess this was 'bad memorable' then?"

"The jury's still out," Luke replied as they strolled together towards the diner.

When they got there, Caesar still had the place open, and Kirk was sitting alone at one of the tables eating a sandwich. Upon seeing them, he pulled out a walkie-talkie and covertly muttered, "The eagle has landed," into it.

Lorelai sat down at the counter and Luke went behind it. "Something to eat?" he offered.

"Pie, pie, coffee, pie, a donut, oh, and while you're at it, how about some pie?" she replied eagerly.

"Apple, blueberry or cherry?" Luke asked. "What am I saying, how about I just bring over the entire selection?"

"Now you're talking," Lorelai said playfully.

Caesar emerged from the kitchen with his jacket on, practically running for the door. "Luke, I'm taking off," he announced, heading out the door before Luke had a chance to object.

They both watched him go, then Lorelai turned to Luke. "Obviously you run a tight ship around here," she commented.

Just then, Babette and Miss Patty entered the diner, sly grins pasted onto both their faces.

Miss Patty sauntered over to stand next to Lorelai. "And how was the date, dear?" she asked.

"Well, it _is_ still going on, so I can't give you anything conclusive yet," Lorelai began.

"That's a good sign," Babette said hopefully. "You're not trying to get away from each other yet."

"The best is yet to come," Miss Patty said knowingly.

"How's he doing, sugar?" Babette wondered. "What's Luke like on a date? Did he pay? Did he hold the door for you?"

"Does his breath smell?" Kirk interjected. "Did he accidentally trip on any furniture and make you spill your coffee on him, giving him second degree burns?"

They all stopped and looked at him.

"Not that I ever did that," Kirk backtracked sheepishly.

"Did he keep the conversation flowing?" Miss Patty wondered. "Did he compliment your outfit?"

"He's standing right here," Luke objected from behind the counter.

"I'll handle this, Luke." Lorelai waved him off and proceeded to answer their questions. "He was right on time; he made a general-but-not-too-specific compliment on my appearance."

"He didn't notice those shoes?" Babette wondered, surprised. "Those are fabulous, sugar."

"I'm not RuPaul," Luke objected.

"And we can all thank God for that," Lorelai commented. Then she continued her recap of the date. "Anyway, he did pay for the movie. I don't think he held the door, but I honestly could care less about that."

"Luke," Babette rebuked him.

"I never know if I'm supposed to hold doors these days or not," Luke protested. "Not that it's any of your business."

"Chivalry is _always_ fashionable," Miss Patty informed him. "Didn't your father teach you anything?"

By this point, Luke had clearly had enough. "Are you going to order anything?" he demanded of Miss Patty and Babette.

"Oh, no sugar, Maury made us a fabulous pot roast and strawberry shortcake earlier, I couldn't eat another bite," Babette replied.

Miss Patty also shook her head.

"Then it's time to go," Luke ordered, pointing to the door. "This place is for paying customers only."

"Love a man taking charge," Miss Patty swooned. She gave Lorelai a nudge. "We're off; you two have a nice evening." Miss Patty and Babette headed out the door of the diner.

Kirk remained at his table, still working on his sandwich. "By the way, I have a number of items for sale that you two might be interested in," he offered.

"What?" Luke asked, perplexed.

"Just a few things people often forget on a date," Kirk explained. "It really pays to be prepared. I have Binaca, condoms, a reasonable selection of lingerie items, and a pocket-size book of conversation-starters just in case you need things jump-started. I only charge a 15 markup."

"15 markup?" Lorelai asked.

"Hey, if you want to throw cold water on your special evening by dashing out to the store, that's your business," Kirk explained. "Personally, I think it's worth the extra 15 to be able to buy it in the here & now."

"That's it," Luke announced. "We're closed. Time to go."

"I'm still eating my Reuben," Kirk protested.

"Hurry up and finish it," Luke ordered.

"Actually, I've been making it a point to eat my meals slowly," Kirk explained. "Studies have shown that slower eating often translates to eating less and losing weight." He demonstrated by taking a small, leisurely bite.

"Kirk, you're the last person in the world who needs to worry about losing weight," Lorelai interjected.

"It also helps with my digestion," Kirk added. "I've been much less gassy since starting this."

"That's it," Luke announced. "Time to go. I'm refunding your money," Luke replied, taking the dish away from Kirk.

"I don't want my money back, I want my Reuben," Kirk objected. "I just worked a fourteen hour day, three jobs, all the while thinking about the wonderful juxtaposition of sour and salty flavors that is a Reuben sandwich."

"Fine, you can have it to go," Luke groused as he went to get a container to put the sandwich in.

"But it's not the same eating it at home without the whole diner ambiance," Kirk protested.

"OUT!" Luke bellowed, tossing the container at him.

Kirk reluctantly took it and left, and Luke locked the door behind him. Then he turned to Lorelai. "Come on," he beckoned, heading towards the hallway that led upstairs to his apartment.

Lorelai paused for a moment. "I can't – you know – stay all night," she said tentatively.

Luke sighed in frustration at being misunderstood. "Just trying to get away from the paparazzi," he explained.

Lorelai complied and followed him upstairs and into the apartment. "OK, first thing we need to do is find you a place to live," she announced as she surveyed the place.

"No we don't." Luke replied.

"You already have a place?"

"Yes. This one," Luke replied.

"_Here_?" Lorelai asked in amazement. "I mean, I guess it's fine if you're into the whole Henry David Thoreau-minimalist thing, but come on…" she trailed off.

"What's wrong with the place?" I lived here for years before…" Luke trailed off.

"Anna," Lorelai finished his sentence. "Luke, it's not a dirty word. She's the mother of your daughter; her name is bound to come up on occasion."

"Sorry," he said. "I guess I'm still getting used to the whole thing."

"So are you going to tell me what happened with her, or am I going to have to strap you down and force you to listen to boy-band music for 48 hours straight?"

Luke sighed. "Liz," he replied enigmatically.

"Liz?"

"My sister. She's been up visiting. We needed to go pick up the rings at the jewelers and Liz volunteered to watch April while we went."

"And this led to the end of your engagement…how?" Lorelai wondered.

"Well, Anna was never that crazy about Liz," Luke informed her.

"Is this the plastic-wishbone-macrobiotic sister?" Lorelai recalled.

"Only sister I've got," Luke replied. "And yeah, she can be a little…"

"Capricious?" Lorelai offered.

"Yeah, she's done some crazy things, made some bad choices, but she's basically OK, you know?" Luke explained. "It's not like she's an ax murderer or doped up on heroin or anything. Put all the sharp objects out of reach, give her a couple of Dr. Seuss books and she'd be fine babysitting. She's got her own kid and he's still alive. That should count for something."

"But Anna objected?" Lorelai guessed.

"To put it mildly," Luke said. "She actually listed her many reasons why she objected, right to Liz's face. She really laid into her; she actually had her in tears."

"I guess the phrase 'no thank you' never occurred to her?" Lorelai said.

"So Liz ran out crying, and I was biting my tongue like usual, and Anna just looked at me and said 'what?' And I just snapped, you know?"

"You were defending your little sister," Lorelai said affectionately.

"I was defending my sanity," Luke corrected her. "So one thing led to another, we talked, and it turned out she was having doubts too, and so here we are."

"What about April?" Lorelai asked.

"I've got her every afternoon after daycare, and every other weekend."

"Oh, Luke, I'm so glad you could work that out," Lorelai said.

"It's not the same," Luke said, a hint of sadness in his voice. "But I guess we're all better off." He poured two glasses of wine and brought one over to Lorelai, who had settled herself on the couch. As he sat down next to her, she snuggled in close and he obliged by lifting his arm up and around her shoulders.

"So I don't know if we're going to be able to do this again," Lorelai informed him.

"What?" Luke asked, taken aback.

"This whole evening-out-just-the-two-of-us thing," Lorelai elaborated. "Rory's with her dad tonight, but just because he's suddenly decided he wants to be a real father doesn't mean it's going to stick."

"I can't believe you compared me to that guy," Luke groused.

"I was making a point, and by the looks of things, I did a pretty good job of it," Lorelai replied. "Anyway, you've got Anna to take April every other weekend, but I'm usually on my own with Rory, so I don't know how this whole dating thing is going to work."

"We'll manage," Luke replied as he idly twirled a lock of her hair with his free hand.

"I know that my fascinating wit and sparkling personality are hard to live without," Lorelai added, "but you wouldn't be the first guy to give up on me," she said.

"I'm not giving up on you."

"I'm a single mother," she continued as if she hadn't heard him. "My daughter has to come first. Most guys don't get that."

"Lorelai, I have a kid too," he reminded her. "I _get_ it."

A grin spread across her face as she gasped happily. "Oh, my God, you're right! If this works out, we could be like _The_ _Brady Bunch_. Well, except that we'd be about 4 kids short. Of course _The Brady Bunch_ was based on the far superior movie _Yours, Mine and Ours_, I mean, who wouldn't prefer Lucille Ball over Florence Henderson, anyway? Florence Henderson is a one-hit wonder. Lucille Ball was an _icon_. I seriously don't think I would've survived growing up in my parents' house without her to look up to. A woman who was once fired from her job at an ice cream shop because she kept forgetting to put bananas in the banana splits, and then goes on to become the greatest TV star of all time, I mean forget Emily Gilmore, _there_ was a _real_ role model. Did you know she wasn't really…"

"Lorelai," Luke interrupted her.

"Mm?" she looked up at him.

"Shut up," he said, leaning in towards her for a kiss.

For one hideous moment, Lorelai remembered the burrito night at the Inn and paused, half expecting Luke to pull away from her.

And then it all came back to her. She remembered Mia telling her that the wedding was off, and Luke's smile upon seeing her at the diner, and his lovable awkwardness when he asked her out almost immediately afterwards, and the deep, intent look in his blue eyes, hopeful that she would accept, and the wonderful time she had had that evening. And she knew that that nagging voice in the back of her mind could go away once and for all.

She leaned in and whole-heartedly returned Luke's kiss, knowing that everything was going to be just fine.

_fin_


End file.
